If you fall into one (or all) of the following categories — cinephile, culture vulture or need-something-to-do-on-Wednesday-night — we have something that'll pique your interest. The Art Gallery of NSW is gearing up for a two-month-long showcase of Chinese cinema. Neon Gods will run alongside the upcoming Heaven and Earth in Chinese Art: Treasures from the National Palace Museum, Taipei exhibition. The series is a celebratory showcase of works from the most remarkable directors of Chinese language cinema in the 20th century — think Ang Lee, Edward Yang, Hou Hsiao-Hsien and Tsai Ming-liang. Presented on rare 35mm film print sourced from both national and international archives (film stock nerds rejoice), this series features everything from action classic Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon to revenge odyssey Rebels of the Neon God to the once-forgotten landmark of queer cinema The End of the Track. Boasting a cast of what the gallery's curator of film, Ruby Arrowsmith-Todd, describes as "rebels, action heroines and queer outsiders", the retrospective promises to reacquaint you with, or introduce you to, some of the most innovative, bold and significant films in sinophone cinema history. Neon Gods is running from Wednesday, February 20 to Sunday, May 5. Screenings will take place at 2pm and 7.15pm on Wednesdays and 2pm on Sundays. For the full program and to reserve tickets, vist the website.
As COVID-19 continues to spread around the globe, travel is in no one's immediate plans — and the airline industry is responding accordingly. In Australia, that means a huge drop in the number of available flights, both overseas and within Australia, with Qantas announcing that it's grounding aircraft and slashing services for the foreseeable future. In a statement, the 100-year-old Aussie airline revealed that it will cut flights from the end of March until the end of May, at least. International flights will be cut by around 90 percent, while domestic flights will fall by approximately 60 percent. Both moves come in response to Australia's current containment and quarantine measures, including the requirement that all international arrivals into the country must self-isolate for 14 days — and, unsurprisingly, the steeply dropping demand for air travel both internationally and domestically. In total, around 150 aircraft will be taken out of service across both the Qantas and Jetstar brands. At present, the company will also stick to its previously announced reductions from late May to mid-September — with capacity cut by 25 percent by using smaller aircraft and reducing the frequency of flights — although that could obviously drop further depending on how the coronavirus situation develops in the next two months. While Qantas hasn't revealed exactly which routes will be affected by the huge 90-percent cut, it's sensible to assume that all of them will. Big changes already announced and operational include postponing the launch of the new Brisbane–Chicago route, sending all Sydney flights to London via Perth rather than Singapore (which, yes, means experiencing that whopping 17-hour non-stop trip from Perth–London), and completely suspending all flights from Sydney–Shanghai and Melbourne–Bangkok. Given the extent of COVID-19's impact, all other airlines are obviously in a comparable situation. While Virgin Australia hasn't updated its plans since March 13, it too has begun reducing services — by six percent overall, including by eight percent internationally. Worldwide, the scenario is the same. Air New Zealand is reducing its capacity by 85 percent overall, and its trips across the Tasman to Australia by 80 percent. Airlines in America, Britain, Europe, Asia and, well, basically everywhere are taking similar measures — as is to be expected as countries everywhere begin to close their borders. For more information about Qantas and Jetstar's reductions, visit the company's website. For further details about Virgin Australia's plans, visit its website. To find out more about the status of COVID-19 in Australia and how to protect yourself, head to the Australian Government Department of Health's website.
If thinking about meat-free Mondays conjures up images of boiled vegetables, soggy tofu or a simple salad, you're doing it all wrong. In a city as health-conscious as Sydney, there are heaps of restaurants dishing up wholesome vegetarian meals that are both innovative and delicious. Grab a meal at one of these spots, and you'll soon see that there's absolutely no reason that meat-free needs to equal flavourless. In fact, these stellar restaurants make vegetarian eating so appealing you may just find yourself extending that meat-free commitment into the rest of the week. To get you started, we've teamed up with our mates at American Express to pick out the best spots to go when you want a vego feed with zero compromises on flavour. Whether you're looking for a veggie-driven banquet, premier farm-to-table eating or a healthy casual spot for a quick evening meal, we've got the place for you. From brekkie to dinner, these eateries make meat-free eating a total breeze. Plus, they all accept your American Express® Card so you can stock up on points while treating your body like the glorious temple that it is. Kiss that soggy tofu goodbye. Got yourself in another dining situation and need some guidance? Whatever it is, we know a place. Visit The Shortlist and we'll sort you out.
Are you a coffee enthusiast? Do you believe that a yawn is a silent scream for coffee? Is your blood 73 percent coffee? If you even slightly indicated yes to any of those, the Aroma Festival is perfect for you. Coffee connoisseurs will descend on The Rocks like beans into a grinder when the festival returns for its 18th year. Cafes will be showcasing their best blends in a bid to win your votes and the title of Aroma Cup People's Choice. The Australian Specialty Coffee Association will be hosting workshops throughout July on latte art, home brewing and more. There will even be coffee cup readings on the day if you're the type of person who plays with the dregs at the bottom of your espresso. Don't let the daily grind bring you down. Head to The Rocks, try some of Sydney's best local brews and steep yourself in the intoxicating scent of coffee.
What begins in Milan, then heads to Puglia and the Italian Alps, plus Naples, Sicily, Tuscany, Florence and Rome, too? An impressive getaway, and also the 2023 Italian Film Festival. What dives into history, includes love and treasures, and also soul-searching journeys, stunning threads, labyrinths and great art? Again, a dream holiday, and also Australia's annual celebration of Italy's best and brightest on the big screen. Running from Tuesday, September 19–Wednesday, October 18 at Palace Central, Palace Norton St, Palace Verona and Chauvel Cinema in Sydney, 2023's IFF will open with The Last Night of Amore, which is where the fest's jaunt to Milan comes in, and one of its thrillers as well. Making its Australian premiere after a successful stint at the Italian box office, writer/director Andrea Di Stefano's (The Informer) police flick stars Pierfrancesco Favino (The Hummingbird) as it tells of an about-to-retire honest cop facing a chaotic, crime-riddled, corruption-fuelled situation. Also among the event's spotlight flicks, Kidnapped sits in the centrepiece slot, recreating the tale of the Vatican's abduction of a young Jewish boy in the 19th century, plus as the scandal that unsurprisingly followed. As part of a focus on actor, filmmaker and screenwriter Massimo Troisi, 1994's The Postman, the talent's two-time Oscar-nominated final film, will close out the fest with a 50s-set whirlwind of love and friendship. There's more where they both came from — more special-presentation and special-event movies, and more of Troisi's work. First, the features getting some extra IFF love. Starring Josh O'Connor (Mothering Sunday) and directed by Alice Rohrwacher (Futura), La Chimera heads to 80s-era Tuscany as a British archaeologist gets caught up in ring selling stolen Italian wares — while Beautiful Boy's Felix van Groeningen shares directing duties with his The Broken Circle Breakdown co-screenwriter Charlotte Vandermeersch on The Eight Mountains, which stars Luca Marinelli (Martin Eden) and Alessandro Borghi (Devils), and won 2022's Cannes Jury Prize. Also, Burning Hearts dives into crime and revenge in black and white, Carravagio's Shadow features Riccardo Scamarcio (John Wick: Chapter 2) as the eponymous painter, and documentary The Genius of Gianni Versace Alive unravels its namesake fashion designer's career. With IFF's Troisi retrospective, viewers can see three more of his films: 1981 comedy I'm Starting From Three, his debut as both a big-screen actor and director; Nothing Left to Do But Cry, where he acts opposite and travels back in time with Roberto Benigni (Pinocchio); and the cinema-adoring Splendour, also featuring the late, great Marcello Mastroianni. And, there's also Mario Martone's (Nostalgia) doco Somebody Down There Likes Me, about his exploration of Troisi's movies. Elsewhere on the bill, Nanni Moretti (Three Floors) directs himself playing a director grappling with today's streaming reality in A Brighter Tomorrow; Strangeness enlists Toni Servillo (The Hand of God) as Literature Nobel Prize-winning playwright Luigi Pirandello; The First Day of My Life also features the prolific actor, this time in the latest effort from Perfect Strangers' helmer Paolo Genovese; and both Like Sheep Among Wolves and Prophets sit among the fest's thrillers. The list goes on, including the family-friendly Supernova and The Properties of Metals, plus comedies Orlando and My Shadow Is Your Shadow. And, there's the music-focused My Soul Summer featuring Italian X Factor-winner Casadilego.
Whether it's a television series or a movie, when a beloved pop culture entity comes to an end these days, fans rarely have to say goodbye forever. We live in a time of remakes, reboots, revivals, sequels and prequels, after all — and stage adaptations and film-to-TV leaps, too — so usually we're just pressing pause on our favourites, rather than farewelling them permanently. Given how successful Game of Thrones proved for HBO — even after its eighth and final season caused plenty of uproar — the on-screen world inspired by George RR Martin's books was never going to simply disappear. Indeed, before GoT even finished, there was chatter about what would come next, with the network first announcing that it was considering five different prequel ideas. It then green-lit one to pilot stage, scrapped it and later decided to adapt Martin's House Targaryen-focused Fire & Blood for the small screen as a show called House of the Dragon. Next, it opted to give novella series Tales of Dunk and Egg the TV treatment, too, and to work on an animated GoT show. And, it's been reported that another three prequels are also under consideration. Of course, all of the above announcements have been happening for so long that it's easy to forget that new GoT-related shows will eventually grace the small screen — and that we won't just merely be talking about them. In House of the Dragon's case, it's actually due to release its ten-episode first season in 2022, so you now know what to look forward to watching next year. Expect to spend more time with flame-breathing scaly creatures and the family that adores them. If you thought the Targaryens were chaotic already, delving into their history — and their love of using dragons to wage wars and claim power — is certain to cement that idea. We all know what happened to the last surviving members of the family in GoT, including Daenerys and her boyfriend/nephew Jon Snow; however, House of the Dragon, like Fire & Blood, jumps back 300 years earlier. Cast- and character-wise, House of the Dragon stars Emma D'Arcy (Misbehaviour) as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, the first-born child of King Viserys; Matt Smith (His House) as Prince Daemon Targaryen, the King's brother; Rhys Ifans (Official Secrets) as Otto Hightower, the Hand of the King; Olivia Cooke (Pixie) as Alicent Hightower, Otto's daughter; and Steve Toussaint (It's a Sin) as Lord Corlys Velaryon, aka 'The Sea Snake', a nautical adventurer from a Valyrian bloodline as old as House Targaryen. And if you're wondering how they all look, HBO has also just released its first official images from the series. These Westerosi folk will all grace a tale that harks back to Aegon I Targaryen's conquest of the Seven Kingdoms — which is what started the hefty 738-page first volume in Fire & Blood's planned two-book series — and then works through the family's history from there. Aegon I created the Iron Throne, so you'll probably get to see one returning favourite. And you don't have to be the Three-Eyed Raven to know that this tale involves plenty of GoT's staples: fighting, battles for supremacy and bloodshed. Also set to pop up on-camera: Paddy Considine (The Third Day) as King Viserys, Eve Best (Nurse Jackie) as Princess Rhaenys Velaryon and Sonoya Mizuno (Devs) as Mysaria, Prince Daemon's paramour. Behind the scenes, Miguel Sapochnik and Ryan Condal are acting as the series' showrunners. Sapochnik has a hefty GoT history, winning an Emmy and a Directors Guild Award for directing 'Battle of The Bastards', helming season eight's 'The Long Night', and doing the same on four other episodes. As for Condal, he co-created and oversaw recent sci-fi series Colony, and co-wrote the screenplay for the 2018 film Rampage. House of the Dragon is due to start airing on HBO sometime in 2022. When and where it'll be available to watch Down Under hasn't yet been revealed — we'll update you with further details when they're announced. Images: Ollie Upton/HBO.
Sydney record label Rice Is Nice is getting in early on their party of the year entry. On Sunday, January 18, they'll be carting five of their favourite bands down to The Vic for a monumental live music bash. Topping the lineup is Geelong five-piece The Frowning Clouds. Influenced by old-school bands like The Kinks and The Beatles, they're developing a reputation for their seriously solid songwriting and charismatic live shows. Next up is Adelaide indie shoegazer Summer Flake (aka Stephanie Crase), delivering her mellow, atmospheric combo of vocal harmonies and guitar sounds, and then three-piece post-punkers Terrible Truths. Rounding up proceedings will be Sydney trio The Weak Boys, with their tales of drunken shenanigans, 'fucken landlords' and unrequited love for Diane Keaton, as well as Melbourne's Darts, who'll be playing a bunch of new material. The action kicks off at 1pm and it's all free.
Online music merchandise moguls LabelState are opening their very own pop-up shop on Oxford Street, allowing Sydney residents the chance to surf their store as well as their site for tees that showcase to everyone reading their chest that they love Australian music. LabelState is a godsend to up-and-coming bands and music organisations as they facilitate a no-cost, no-hassle solution to selling merchandise before delivering a $5 royalty to artists for every shirt of theirs sold. The shop will be stocking shirts from more than 400 Australian bands, artists, labels and venues already on the site, including radio heroes FBi and bands such as Velociraptor and DZ Deathrays. So now you can enjoy everything from their website with the added benefit of trying before you buy. The store is only in town for two months from June 4 to August 4, so be quick before you're back to guessing your size online. The shop will also host a series of free events such as live performances from musicians, kicking off with Jeremy Neale (of Velociraptor fame) broadcasting live instore on FBi Radio Saturday, June 6, at 2pm. So even if you have nothing to buy, you can still just browse, with your ears.
The Persian International Film Festival, now in its second year, collects films from Persian-speaking communities in Iran and Afghanistan. Persia may seem like an unlikely subject for a festival, but it boasts one of the most miraculous film scenes in the world, with masterpieces like The Circle and Kandahar emerging despite serious censorship and a lack of funds and film-making infrastructure. The jewel in the crown of this year's selection is probably Abbas Kiarostami's beautifully melancholy Like Someone In Love, a film which demands your patience but also richly rewards it. The opening night film, A Respectable Family, described as Iranian noir, played at Cannes Film Festival to strong reviews, while big things are expected from the comedy Chicken With Plums, from Marjane Satrapi, who previously wrote and directed the film based on her Persepolis, one of the defining graphic novels of the last 20 years. As a bonus, both opening and closing night films come with Persian tea and sweets. This year the festival celebrates 50 years of Persian film with retrospective screenings, like the modern classic Color of Paradise; Turtles Can Fly, a searing and often surreal look at the upheaval in Iraq in the days before the 2003 invasion; and The Cow, a classic, fable-like tale of a man who loses his beloved animal. https://youtube.com/watch?v=YcvCAZvY7nw
If you were a cool cat in London in the 1950s — equally at home in a blues club, art gallery or high-end fashion house — chances are you were cruising around on your own modified motorcycle. Known as 'cafe racers', young people would make their own modifications to standard-issue motorbikes and tear around the city, racing each other from bohemian coffee house to bohemian coffee house with jaunty scarves whipping around their ears. Whether you missed out on this era or you were right there in the thick of it, Throttle Roll will throw you right back in the deep end with over 12 hours of music, bikes, food and drink planned for The Projects Enmore on May 11, including musical performances from blues rockers The Snow Droppers, rockabilly legends Wes Pudsey and the Sonic Aces and gyspy swing sweethearts The Cope Street Parade. Cafe racers retain a loyal following and bring together enthusiasts from the devout to the weekend warrior — motor mechanics, art directors, curators and musicians alike. And in a coup for motorcycle enthusiasts, Throttle Roll involves some of Australia's most respected workshops, including Desmoclinic, Deus Ex Machina, Rocker Classic Motorcycles, Drifter Bikes, Rene9ade Motorcycles, Trojan Classic Motorcycles, RB Racing Evolution Custom Industries, DNA Custom Cycles, Mean Machines, Motociclo, Gasoline Scooters and Rising Sun Workshop. The organisers proclaim that the event will be family, pet and all-weather friendly, and unlike a typical motorcycle show, there will be no judging or awards, just fame and notoriety. Image: Cope Street Parade.
Guys, it's okay. The fruitless days of trying to teach yourself all the moves to 'Single Ladies' in your bathroom mirror are over. In a move that seems simultaneously complete genius (filling a gap in your life you didn't know was there and now desperately need filled) and kind of dangerous (because, like, how will they ever top this?) Goodgod have announced their first ever beginners' dance class, and it's dedicated to angel-among-mortals and Queen of the World Beyonce. There's been no word on which Queen Bey classics instructor Amrita Tennant will be bestowing upon your unworthy pleb body in the hour-long class, but get ready for some serious hair flicks and endorphin-release. Personally, I'm tempted break out my gold power suit and top hat in the hope that this routine will make the cut. (I just hope they have a wind machine.) If the promise of learning to dance like an actual queen isn't enough, there'll be drinks, projections (hopefully of Beyonce's face/body/general aura) and cocktail jugs to win. Invite your friends, or don't, and prepare yourself for the colossal levels of jealousy and respect from them next time you're out and bust out these bootylicious moves.
It's wise to approach modern French comedies with a sense of caution. Given legendary director Francis Veber (The Dinner Game, The Valet) sadly doesn't appear to be working on anything new, the majority of recent French comedic releases in Australia have been the likes of last year's interminable Le Chef, misfire Paris-Manhattan and the recent laugh-free Fly Me to the Moon. It's with utmost trepidation that I approach anything with the words 'comedy' and 'French' in the description. The Gilded Cage may not 'break' the curse as such, but it sure bends it. It follows a Portuguese family that has been living in France for the past 30 years, dreaming of one day returning to their home. The patriarch, José (Joaquim de Almeida) is a respected foreman for a construction company, and the matriarch Maria (Rita Blanco) is the concierge for a building of upper-class toffs. Both José and Maria have a reputation for being the most accommodating people, so willing to help others out that their friends and children suggest they are being taken advantage of. When José’s estranged brother dies, the family is given a will promising them a large property in Portugal, along with a healthy income from the deceased brother’s business. It’s too good to be true, but before they can make plans, the word gets out. Everyone discovers the nicest family in Paris is about to leave and embarks on a ridiculous series of lies and manipulations to keep them in their lives. Most of the gags aren’t necessarily laugh-out-loud, but it's at least amusing even when it’s not being hilarious. It’s not the most inspiring of distinctions, but given the recent state of French comedies, “amusing” is more than welcome. It’s interesting watching it with an Australian audience, because many of the jokes hinge on the difference between the French and Portuguese languages, and although some of the jokes hit, others only really make sense if you actually speak at least one of the languages. And ending the film on a gag that requires an in-depth knowledge of celebrity Portuguese soccer players probably isn’t the best way to ensure international crossover appeal. On the other hand, Dodgeball was filled with Lance Armstrong jokes (now largely outdated), and no prizes for guessing which is the more popular sport across the globe. Still, for all the odd cultural references, the film is charming and feelgood and pretty funny. If you’ve been burned by bad French comedies in recent times, this should certainly help mend those wounds.
The Nike She Runs campaign has hit the ground running since its debut event in 2012. On Saturday, May 3, thousands of women will once again get together at Centennial Park for the third annual event. Previously named She Runs the Night, last year's event transformed Centennial Park into an interactive light and sound show, with DJs to keep up the excitement. Registration is open via their Facebook page, which has grown to a whopping 150,000 likes. As the only night running event open to women only, you can expect the 10k run to have more than last year's 6,000 participants. Women of every ability are encouraged to join the event to share their love for, and feel safe, running at night. So put your best foot forward and don't miss the May 3 event.
Bodega has been cooking up tapas in its Commonwealth Street digs for 13 years. Now, it's shaking things up. Next month, owners and hospo legends Elvis Abrahanowicz and Ben Milgate (Porteño, Bodega 1904) are moving the restaurant into sister venue Wyno Bar and Shop just around the corner. "Since [2017] when we acquired 121BC — which is now Wyno — it was always the plan for us to move Bodega there," says Abrahanowicz. "It's something we've been thinking about for a few years now and we were really just waiting for the right time." Come August, the Wyno dining room will become Bodega 2.0. The 27-seat venue will be transformed to feel (and look) a bit more like Bodega, the space opened up and a brand new kitchen installed, too. "We've been changing the space slowly over time and will add in a few more bits and pieces before reopening," says Abrahanowicz. "As it's small there's not too much you can do, but we're definitely bringing in that Bodega feel, so you'll 100 percent know you're at Bodega." [caption id="attachment_731763" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Bodega[/caption] As far as the food goes, the focus will still be on Spanish and South American tapas, but the seasonal menu will now change weekly. Two beloved Bodega dishes will remain regulars, though: the fish fingers (raw kingfish on charred toast, topped with cuttlefish and salt-cured tuna) and the banana split (a cake layered with flan and banana marshmallow, then sprinkled with salted peanuts and served with dulce de leche ice cream). Wine drinkers will be happy to know that, while the bar will close, the Wyno bottle shop isn't going anywhere. That means you'll have plenty of top-notch bottles to choose from when making your tapas selection, too. And Bodega fans won't need to go without for long — the restaurant will reopen on Holt Street just four-to-five days after closing down on Commonwealth Street. As for the existing space, it has been snapped up by the team behind Tokyo Bird and Osaka Trading Co. They're planning to open a new Japanese concept called Nikkei — but details on that one are still under wraps for now. We'll update you with more when the time comes. Bodega Tapas Bar will closing its doors on Saturday, August 17. It's slated to reopen at 50 Holt Street, Surry Hills on Wednesday, August 21. Top image: Wyno by Katje Ford
With COVID-19 cases continuing to rise in New South Wales, Australia's internal borders have become a hot topic yet again. Since the new northern beaches cluster first came to light on Thursday, December 17, a number of states have changed their border arrangements — with Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announcing today, Sunday, December 20, that his state is closing its borders to all of Greater Sydney and the Central Coast. Victoria is declaring both of the two regions a 'red zone' under its new border entry system, which came into effect at midnight as Friday, December 18 ticked over to Saturday, December 19. Originally, just the northern beaches received that designation — which means folks from the area are "not eligible to apply for a Victorian Border Crossing Permit and are prohibited from entering Victoria" — but that has now been expanded. Greater Sydney and the Central Coast will become red zones from midnight tonight (as Sunday, December 20 becomes Monday, December 21), which means that anyone who lives in, has visited, been in, or travelled through from either area who wants to go to Victoria will not be permitted to enter. As Premier Andrews explained, "nobody who is from those parts of Sydney, or Greater Sydney, or has visited that part of Greater Sydney will be allowed to travel back to Melbourne or any part of Victoria". If people who have been in those NSW regions do arrive in Victoria and receive an exemption to enter, they'll be required to go into hotel quarantine for 14 days. An exception applies to Victorians who are returning home, as they'll receive an extra day — until midnight on Monday, December 21 — to return; however, they must quarantine in their homes. After that, though, the same rules apply to Victorians. "The door will close for home quarantine for Victorians on midnight Monday night," the Premier said. "If they don't get back in the next day and a half then, regardless of whether you are Victorian or not, you will go into 14 days of mandatory hotel quarantine." If you're wondering what that means on the roads around the New South Wales-Victorian border, a hard border will be put into effect, which Premier Andrews also explained. "There will be 700 members of Victoria Police who will have various checkpoints, many, many checkpoints along the New South Wales–Victoria border. There will be a permit system, so if you want to travel to Victoria by road you will need to get a permit. You will need to get another permit if you had one issued yesterday, because circumstances have changed." But, residents of border communities won't require permits. "For local communities, all the local government areas on the New South Wales side of the border and on the Victorian side of the border will have freedom of movement. Just by simply showing your driver license to show where you live and you are from that bubble, if you like, you will be able to move back and forth," said the Premier. As for how long the aforementioned changes will be in place, an end date wasn't given. Although the NSW Government has set 11.59pm on Wednesday, December 23 as its planned date to end the northern beaches lockdown, the request for Sydneysiders to cancel all non-essential activities and the new ten-person cap on gatherings at home, Victoria isn't working towards that date regarding the border. "They will not be open on midnight Wednesday night. I want to be clear on that... these arrangements will not be lifted on midnight Wednesday night," Premier Andrews advised. The move comes as NSW recorded 30 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm on Saturday, December 19. Victoria has now gone 51 days without any local COVID-19 cases. From midnight on Sunday, December 20 anyone who has visited the Greater Sydney and Central Coast areas in the past 14 days will not be allowed to enter Victoria unless they are a returning resident or are entering for one a few essential reasons. For more information, head to the Victorian Government coronavirus website.
Australia's leading festival on gender All About Women is returning to the Sydney Opera House for its seventh season in 2019. This year features an especially impressive lineup of emerging female voices from around the globe, brought together for one day of talks, workshops, panel discussions and live podcast recordings. As usual, the festival will coincide with International Women's Day, taking place on Sunday, March 10. This year's cutting-edge topics include: 'feminism outside the Western world' with Arab-Australian human rights advocate Sara Saleh; 'female anger and desire' with US author Soraya Chemaly; 'toxic masculinity' with writer Clementine Ford (author of Boys Will Be Boys and Fight Like a Girl); 'problems with wokeness' by UK fashion stylist and cultural commentator Ayishat Akanbi; and 'hip hop feminism' with the US journalist who coined the term, Joan Morgan. The 2019 lineup has been curated by the Sydney Opera House's Head of Talks and Ideas Dr Edwina Throsby, and includes Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times journalist Emily Steel — who investigated the sexual harassment claims against Fox News and Vice News. Steel will talk alongside other heavy-hitters, including Indian activist Sohaila Abdulali, television presenter Osher Günsberg, German philosopher and former war correspondent Carolin Emcke and gender politics author Gemma Hartley. The podcast hub will return with live recordings of cult shows, including the New York Magazine's The Cut on Tuesdays, Slate's The Waves and The Guardian Australia's The Witch Hunt. Other highlights include an exhibition on 'mental load' by French comic artist Emma and a free public event where attendees will imagine 'a collective feminist future'. Interactive workshops are also on the docket and include carpentry and flower arranging. All About Women 2019 tickets will go on sale at 9am on Friday, December 14 and start at a $33 per session. The full program will be announced in January, so keep an eye on this space. Images: Prudence Upton and Yaya Stempler.
At this year's Vivid Sydney you can celebrate women in music in the most unlikeliest of places: a barber shop. Ziggy's Barber Salon in Darlinghurst (serving ladies and gents, by the way) is known for its fashion-forward haircuts and now, apparently, cutting edge gigs. Featuring established and emerging talent, artists including Abby Dobson, Lupa J, Jade MacRae and Sayah & Xira will be taking to the, erm, floor as part of an awesome lineup of women in the Aussie music scene. Kick back and enjoy the tunes in a traditional barber chair or dance your heart out on the salon floor. These barber shop beats will be spread across a weekend, with different acts playing on three different nights running from Thursday, May 30 until Saturday, June 1. The party is all ages and it's a BYO drinks policy. Tickets are $25–35 for each gig, or you can get a pass to all three for $60. Do Vivid a little differently this year and add this pop-up live music party to your itinerary.
The everyday scenes in the statement accompanying Lance Richardson's de MéXICO are almost as good a snapshot of Mexico as the exhibition itself. His photos come from right across the country — from Mexico City to Spanish colonial towns like Taxco and Guanajuato, from the ghostly and peyote-soaked Real de Catorce in the Mexican Desert, and along the US border in Tijuana and San Diego. Mausoleums lean. Kids play in an outdoor boxing ring. A rude pig's head hangs in front of a butcher's stand in a market: behind it, the butcher smirks. A boy lazes on the bright yellow, green and red scoop at the front of a barge in the Aztec canals of Xochimilco. In the next photo a Mariachi in another barge scowls — he looks up from the bridge of his little guitar and out across the water. Finally, a shelf of bright US sweets sit in a border store, one of many tacit foreign influences. Most striking is the photo of a hillside in Taxco. Small things leap out: ripples of white arches and prim pink facades cascading down the hill. Little bell towers poke out. There's washing on the rooves, and green patches of tufty scrub in the few green spaces. The long zoom in this photo flattens out the houses, so only the vaguest depth remains — stepping down the hill like stacks of shallow louvers. A long zoom is a metaphor for the distance in these photos. People are usually far off, and the camera looks more at the landscape than at the faces. These scenes are ordinary things. Things an average Mexican wouldn't notice any more than I can remember the asphalt on the way to work. But if the photos themselves don't have much to teach a Mexican, there’s plenty there for the average Sydneysider.
The white sandy shores and lush subtropical forest of Lord Howe Island can only be explored by 400 lucky visitors at any one time. So, if you want to swim through these aquamarine waters, you'll need to snap up accommodation for your crew, quick smart. Looking for an isolated sanctuary? You'll find a private oasis among a forest of kentia palms and banyan trees at Island House, which accommodates up to eight guests across two villas. These carefully curated, light-filled spaces feature sleek Danish furnishings and kitchens stocked with island-grown and -caught produce, plus a bevy of top-shelf drinks. The venue will also kit you out with all the equipment you need for your explorations, offering everything from fishing gear, snorkels and fins to glass-bottomed paddleboards, pushbikes, yoga mats and trekking accoutrement. The team can also help you book a tour for anything that can't be attempted solo, such as deep sea fishing, scuba diving or hiking more arduous trails like the dizzying Mount Gower ridge. Head here for more Aussie island inspiration. Images: Destination NSW
Flock to the city's best Asian eateries to experience some of the seriously tasty set menus they will be serving up as part of the annual Chinese New Year Festival. That's right people, Lunar Feasts is back and from as little as $20 per person, you can eat your weight in wontons at favourite spots like Din Tai Fung and Chinese Noodle House. The more money you fork out (or should that be chopstick out?), the more decadence you can expect, with the likes of Ms G's and Fu Manchu offering multicourse delights of sambal octopus, kimchi and an included sweet treat for about $50. Most restaurants have both lunch and dinner options and some menus include an alcoholic beverage as part of the deal. Bookings are a must at all restaurants, so if you don't want to be left with the dregs of the green tea, get out your red paper envelopes and secure your place now.
Another pop-up bar has opened in Sydney and this time it can be found on the top level of the Bellevue Hotel. The Mumm Spring Carnival Bar is just a little bit exclusive, and has a selection of vintage G.H Mumm bubbles to sip on, as well as the usual selection of wines and beers. This is the place to head after or during the Spring Carnival races with your best fascinator or bow tie and a group of horse (or racing fashion) enthusiasts. There might even be a celeb or two to mingle with. The pop-up bar is doing all the key spring racing day events including the Caulfield Cup, Cox Plate and Derby Day, a ladies day, a boy's night out (Cox Plate Preview Dinner), a Damien Pignolet dinner and, of course, the ultimate Melbourne Cup day. These ticketed events will serve up French cuisine from the kitchen of chef Pignolet matched with the finest champagne. One such event will be the Mumm Champagne Dinner ($190 per head, 1 November). The menu for this night will be oysters Rockefekker and Damien's marinated salmon, lobster boudin with seared scallops, sauce vin blanc with sorrel, ballontine of free range chicken and quail and Swissb brown mushroom farce, with potato and celeriac galette and spinach and pear puree, sauce Duc de Duxelle. To wrap things up there will be Provencale Blancmanger with seasonal berries and rose petals. All courses are matched with different vintage glasses of Mumm. If the canapes, including freshly shucked oysters, from the pop-up's launch are anything to go by, diners will be in for a real treat. Styled by Michelle Leslie, the bar is an intimate space, with a walled outdoor sundeck decorated with vintage G.H. Mumm posters. Astroturf will be found beneath your well-heeled feet outdoors, bringing a real racing vibe to the mix. Bottles of the sponsored Mumm champagne (unfortunately empty, yes we checked) act as bling around the bar and there are fancy pants private dining rooms complete with leather sofas and tonnes of flowers. You'll also find the bottles being used as lamps. The space can be booked for functions and group bookings from 17 October to 6 November, and it'll be worth frocking up for. The Mumm Spring Carnival Bar pop-up is a good place to surround yourself with luxury champagne, good looking glamazons and air that has a Spring Carnival bite to it. Enjoy. Event details can be viewed here.
Do you have eyes? Do you have eyes for what looks good? Are you the kind of person who knows their way around a camera, and how to use it well? Live in Sydney and love it with a passion? Then we might have an opportunity to tweak your interest. Concrete Playground and Olympus have teamed up to offer you the chance to score a particularly excellent PEN E-P1 camera with 17mm kit (valued at $599), and at the very same time land the chance to become a Concrete Playground photographic contributor. Our photographers document Sydney's cultural life minus the boring social snaps - we don't care what you're wearing, only that you're having a good time. Now we have a brand new galleries section, we're looking for someone with an incredible eye to help us share those moments that make this city the ever-changing, never-boring place it is to be. If you think you're the right person for the gig, shoot us an email over to hello@concreteplayground.com.au with a photo you've taken that you think captures something special about Sydney. We'll upload the best snaps to an album on our Facebook page, and invite people to vote for the picture they like best. If your photo gets the most 'likes', the camera and a place in the Concrete Playground family shall be yours. Entries close May 13, 2011 at 5pm.
As you'd expect, The Vic is forward rolling into the New Year with yet another free, all-day, mini-festival crammed with live music. If you're still jittery from the night before, you can get in on the action, but if you're on the comedown, there's ample scope for relaxing. Leading the charge is raw, edgy, bluesy rock duo The Mess Hall. If you caught The Babadook this year, you'll be familiar with front man Jed Kurzel, as he was responsible for the creepy, creepy soundtrack. He's since been nominated for a Screen Music Award for Dead Europe. Also in the programme are self-described 'zigzaggers' The Delta Riggs; Adelaide outside rockers Bad//Dreems, fresh from their US tour; unmissable singer-songwriter Steve Smyth, currently gigging around the nation to promote new album, Exits; Davey Lane, who just launched Atonally Young; and High-tails, whose 'Bending Over Backwards' has been inspiring a good dose of triple j love these few months past. Doors will open at midday and stay that way until late.
Each year, we all anticipate the arrival of December 25. Because of the day off, that includes the promise of an afternoon spent dozing in a hammock — and for dessert fiends, it also includes Gelato Messina's annual Christmas cake. We hope you like a certain quintessential Australian dish, because that's what is on the gelato chain's menu again. Yes, Messina is bringing back its version of the trifle. The Christmas Coma will return for its fourth year running — and this time it's particularly decadent. In fact, it's a gelato rocky road trifle, and it comes in a pack with a dulce de leche sourdough panettone, as made in collaboration with Sonoma Bakery. First, the epic ice cream creation. In 2020, the Christmas Coma will once again feature layer upon layer of everything that is good about Christmas — but instead of being soggy and slightly regrettable, this one will have you licking the glass bowl. So what's in it? Well, Messina is going with layers of cherry flummery, rocky road crunch, coconut cream, chocolate mud cake and milk chocolate gelato, then topping it with caramelised peanuts and glace cherries. Plus, it'll come with some Messina brandy custard to douse all over the mess. And, it all serves 20–30 (or less if you really commit). With the 750-gram sourdough panettone, you'll be getting a spiced brioche whipped up by Sonoma's executive pastry chef Alejandro Luna and his team. It takes 36 hours to make, and it's stuffed with Messina's dulce de leche and chocolate, plus Italian dried fruits, nuts and spices. All of the above comes in a Christmas Coma mega pack, which costs $200 and can be pre-ordered from a yet-to-be-revealed date in the week commencing Monday, November 9. Sign up to Messina's VIP list, and you'll get access to a 24-hour pre-sale window before pre-orders open to everyone, too. You'll then be able to pick up your Christmas Coma between Friday, December 18 and Thursday, December 24, all within regular store opening hours — and from all Gelato Messina stores across Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane except The Star. It comes in a Messina cooler bag and, if you keep it in there all sealed up, can survive for up to one hour. In each of the last few years, the trifle sold out super fast, so we suggest you don't wait on this one. The Christmas Coma will be available to order from sometime during the week commencing Monday, November 9. Keep an eye on the Messina website for further details — or sign up to Messina's VIP list to get access to a 24-hour pre-sale window before pre-orders open to everyone.
Twenty-five years ago, a TV sitcom about six New Yorkers made audiences a promise: that it'd be there for us. And, as well as making stars out of Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Matthew Perry, Matt LeBlanc, Lisa Kudrow and David Schwimmer, the hit series has done just that. Sure, Friends wrapped up its ten-season run in 2004, but the show has lived on — on streaming platforms, by sending an orange couch around Australia and by screening anniversary marathons in cinemas. In news that was bound to happen someday — no pop culture entity truly comes to an end in these reboot, remake, revival and spinoff-heavy times — it looks like Friends is going to live on in a much more literal sense, too. The Hollywood Reporter reveals that a deal is in the works to bring back the show for a reunion special on HBO's new streaming platform HBO Max. Naturally, if it happens, all of the gang will be involved. Almost certainly set to be called 'The One with a Reunion', the special will be unscripted — which means that Aniston and company aren't likely to actually step back into Rachel, Monica, Chandler, Joey, Phoebe and Ross's shoes; rather, they'll chat about their experiences on the show. Still, they'll all be on-screen at the same time celebrating the series that so many folks love, which is probably enough for fans. And, really, who knows what could spring from there. We're purely speculating, but if other big 90s sitcoms like Will & Grace, Mad About You and apparently Frasier can make a proper comeback, then surely everyone's favourite Central Perk regulars can as well. Friends creators David Crane and Marta Kauffman are also slated to join the reunion special, if it comes to fruition. If you're wondering when it could happen, THR notes that it'll largely depend on the relevant parties' schedules — although HBO Max is due to launch in the US in May 2020, so perhaps it'll be sooner rather than later. For folks Down Under, there doesn't seem to be a current plan to bring the streaming platform to our shores. Instead, the company appears to be continuing to focus on its existing arrangements with local channels and streamers for the time being. Via The Hollywood Reporter.
If you casually visited a swamp at twilight at the full moon, encountered an otherwordly swamp queen who hypnotised you into a state of delirium and tried to coax you into murky waters, she'd probably sing you something like Willow Beats' newest single 'Merewif'. The Sydney duo's latest release features lyrics derived from stories of Hare Krishna folklore which, combined with shore-lapping wave sounds, twisting synth and solid baseline, give the whole thing a disturbed nursery rhyme vibe (in a good way, not a Ring Around the Rosy way). You can get a little closer to this weird futuristic fantasy as the uncle-niece duo set off on a national tour this August. The Aussie dates will be their first live appearances in seven months, long anticipated by the very respectably-sized fanbase the two won with the release of their debut EP Alchemy last year — along with their elemental, naked dancing-inducing sets at Falls and Strawberry Fields. 'Merewif' is the first release from their forthcoming Willow Beats EP (due for release later in the year), which means there's plenty of mystical, lush electronica from this duo to look forward to. For now, catch them at Goodgod on August 9. https://youtube.com/watch?v=PLKF8b_bpSw
Who knew ballet and rock music make such a beautiful team? The newest production from the Australian Ballet, Chroma, features four contemporary works and proves that ballet is not just classical orchestration and frou-frou. The White Stripes combine with contemporary costume and minimalist set design to make this not your mum’s ballet. The quadruple bill takes its title from one of the works within, Chroma, a legendary piece originally created by Wayne McGregor for The Royal Ballet of London and using the aforementioned music from the Whites. McGregor’s ballet differentiates itself from the classical style, with jerky movements meant to push the limits of the dancers’ bodies. “The movement can be freaky at times and shows off every joint our bodies have, sometimes all at once," says Daniel Gaudiello, the male lead in Chroma. "The body is such an amazing instrument and you witness it at its limits." Also slated for performance are twin pieces choreographed by Jirí Kylián, Petite Mort (also featuring Gaudiello) and Sechs Tanze, as well as a new original work, Art to Sky, by the Australian Ballet's resident choreographer Stephen Baynes. The contemporary dances by Kylián and Baynes are paired with the classical music of Mozart and Tchaikovsky, creating a blend of old and new ballet styles. Chroma is on at the Sydney Opera House from April 29 to May 17, and thanks to the Australian Ballet, we have two double passes to the May 5 performance of Chroma to give away. To be in the running, subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter (if you haven't already), then email win.sydney@concreteplayground.com.au with your name and address. Read the rest of our interview with lead male Daniel Gaudiello here.
UPDATE, March 15, 2021: Brooklyn is available to stream via Netflix, Stan,Google Play, YouTube Movies and iTunes. From its opening frames, Brooklyn feels like a film from another time. Director John Crowley (Closed Circuit) stays patient as he surveys the life of aspiring Irish bookkeeper Eilis Lacey (Saoirse Ronan), and equally unhurried when he follows her to 1950s New York in search of a better life. He watches and waits as she does the same, though the movie doesn't suffer for it. Instead, it becomes a rare effort that knows how long things take to unfold, and isn't in a hurry to rush any moment. A leisurely sense of timing isn't the film's only old-fashioned flourish — and nor is the gorgeous period look it cultivates, showcasing the intricate work of cinematographer Yves Bélanger and production designer François Séguin. The film version of Colm Tóibín's 2009 novel of the same name, as adapted by author Nick Hornby, also eschews the need for extremes. It still ponders conflicting options, as Eilis is torn between her old and new homes, her past and her future, and between two men who love her. It's just that the movie understands a simple truth that many don't: that, regardless of the choice or conflict, the bulk of reality exists somewhere in the middle. Perhaps that's why Eilis' tale — struggling to leave her widowed mother (Jane Brennan) and caring sister (Fiona Glascott), seeking states-side assistance from kindly priest Father Flood (Jim Broadbent), and moving into a Brooklyn boarding house overseen by the strict Mrs Kehoe (Julie Walters) — always feels so honest and heartfelt. And perhaps that's why it continues to feel genuine as Eilis falls for plumber Tony Fiorello (Emory Cohen), then finds her love tested when she connects with Jim Farrell (Domhnall Gleeson) upon a forced return to Ireland. Indeed, what appears to be a straightforward romantic drama soon proves much more nuanced and sincere, with the stellar cast also doing their part. The film's determination to take things slowly doesn't just suit the story, but the performers, particularly the sensitive efforts of Ronan. She plays the shy Eilis as someone who feels much but says little, and there's nothing quite as moving as watching her face convey the character's inner turmoil. Cohen and Gleeson, the former previously a standout in The Place Beyond the Pines and the latter popping up in everything from Ex Machina to The Force Awakens to The Revenant, ensure their respective love interests remain more than narrative complications — and that Eilis' fondness for them both is just as thoughtfully realised. Combine the central trio's textured portrayals with the movie's overwhelmingly bittersweet tone — another outlier in an art form usually obsessed with clear-cut emotions — and Brooklyn becomes a rousing, resonant throwback in the most pleasing and engaging of ways. Here, saying that the film seems much older than it is proves the best kind of compliment.
The Abercrombie is back! The storied corner pub and haven of electronic music is reopening in December thanks to Solotel who will be reviving the Ultimo venue, reintroducing its packed dance floors and 24-hour license to Sydney's nightlife. Mark Friday, December 23 in your diaries, as that's the date the pub will swing open its doors and kick things off in true Abercrombie fashion with a 36-hour-long party that will stretch from 5pm on the Friday all the way until 5am on Christmas Day morning. "There's a strong sense of responsibility reopening the Abercrombie given that formative memories of generations of Sydney partiers, including myself, were forged here," Solotel CEO Elliot Solomon says. "We're ecstatic to welcome back some of the OG club crews like Purple Sneakers. We're also very aware that there's a generation of kids who haven't been able to experience those heady clubbing days in Sydney, for various reasons. This new era for The Abercrombie is focused on helping to redefine the fabric of Sydney's nightlife as well as provide a platform for the next generation of party crews and clubbers to create their own culture-defining experiences." [caption id="attachment_880223" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Elliot Solomon, Zoe Simmons and Mike Rodrigues[/caption] The expansive space will boast three mini-venues within the overarching title of The Abercrombie. The main bar and beer garden will play home to regular events hosted by some of the best tastemakers and party crews from around Sydney, Australia and the world. When the beats aren't firing, this area will serve as a friendly neighbourhood haunt with beers and cocktails on tap, pizza by the slice and Italian mains for those that may get peckish. Head upstairs and you'll discover a sleek cocktail lounge and rooftop bar called Casa Rosa. The food here draws from the Mediterranean and the DJs will be spinning Italo-disco classics until the early hours of the morning. Rounding out the trio of offerings is Lil Sis. This final piece of the puzzle is located in the adjoining terraces next to the pub. Here you'll find a cosy wine bar serving up classic drops and new-world, minimal-intervention wines, both of which can be enjoyed on-site or be taken away. [caption id="attachment_880221" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mike Who[/caption] All three venues will open on December 23, with Solotel and the Abercrombie team pulling together a who's-who of party people for the massive opening party that will set the stage for a bumper summer on Broadway. Just a few of the names making appearances across the bar's first 36 hours include Astral People DJs, dameeeela, Andy Garvey, Mike Who, Nomad Radio, Pure Space, Lovejoy, Ayebatonye and original regulars of the space back in its previous lifetime, Purple Sneakers DJs. Following this, you can expect a full run of events taking over the venue between Boxing Day and New Year's Day with the likes of House of Mince serving up the party on the day after Christmas, and Motorik closing out the year with a secret international headliner on New Year's Eve. Following its closure in 2014, Solotel purchased the venue in 2016 and has been working with H&E Architects (Barangaroo House, Chiswick) and Michael Delany (Cafe Fredas, Club 77, Piccolo Bar and SHADES) to revamp the beloved bar and nightclub. Inside, the 100-year-old pub tiles have been restored, a world-class Funktion-One speaker system has been installed alongside LED lights from Babekuhl, and a DJ pyramid stage has been erected. This centrepiece stage can be used for pub-style seating, nightclub-style dancing podiums or to accommodate live music. Head to the Solotel website to stay up to date with all of the upcoming events in-store for The Abercrombie. [caption id="attachment_880222" align="alignnone" width="1920"] dameeeela[/caption] The Abercrombie will reopen at 100 Broadway, Chippendale on Friday, December 23. It will be open 10am–2am Monday–Tuesday, 10am–3am Wednesday–Thursday and Sunday, and 10am–5am Friday–Saturday, plus 24 hours for special events.
One of the best known and most important figures in Australian history is Woollarawarre Bennelong, a senior Eora man who was captured by Governor Phillip in 1789, but then escaped, later becoming an interlocutor between Indigenous Australians and European settlers. His curiosity, diplomacy and humour were legendary, and played a major role in ensuring his community survived the trauma of invasion. Now Stephen Page, Bangarra's artistic director, has put Bennelong's story into an epic new dance piece that's about to tour the nation. Expect to be immersed in powerful soundscapes, stunning design and extraordinary movement. Bennelong will premiere at the Sydney Opera House on Thursday, June 29 and run for a month, before heading to Canberra, Brisbane and Melbourne. Check out the trailer below. Image: Vishal Pandey.
When Darth Vader told Luke Skywalker that they're more than just mortal enemies, it became one of the most famous lines of dialogue in movie history (and one of the most mis-quoted). If you've seen Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back, you'll know that it's a powerful, memorable moment that changes the shape of the entire space saga. Even if you haven't, you know what we're talking about. Now, imagine just how epic it'll feel when you're watching the flick on a big screen and listening to John Williams' iconic score played by a live orchestra. Yes, The Force is strong in Sydney once more, with Sydney Symphony Orchestra staging the next in their Star Wars screening and performance on July 27 at the ICC Sydney Theatre. Jedis, wookiees and droids alike can expect a night of tussles between the Rebels and the Empire, Luke learning his true parentage, Han flirting with Leia and getting frozen in carbon, Chewbacca being awesome, R2-D2 being adorable and C-3PO being annoying (well, he is). Plus, it's the flick that marks the first appearance of Lando Calrissian and the first time 'The Imperial March' is heard. If you're thinking that it's a great time to be a Sydney fan of the George Lucas-created franchise, then you're right.The Last Jedi is still fresh in everyone's memories, Solo: A Star Wars Story is only two months away and these types of special events keep on coming — we've got a good feeling that Return of the Jedi will eventually get the same treatment as well. Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back will screen at the ICC Sydney Theatre on July 27, 2018. Grab tickets here.
We thought it was pretty cool when we found out you can rent a cave off Airbnb. We got pretty excited when 'Van Gogh' put up his room for rent in Chicago, and we were a little horrified (and, y'know, curious) to know that beds were up for grabs in the Catacombs. But Airbnb have taken their farfetched ideas on where to spend a night to a whole new terrifying level — they're holding a competition to win a night's sleep surrounded by sharks. Blending two things that most of us don't ever want to associate with each other — sharks and sleep — Airbnb are offering three lucky (or unlucky, depending on how you look at it) winners and their guests the chance to spend the night in the Aquarium de Paris. They will sleep in a suspended circular room inside the tank, meaning they will be literally surrounded by 35 circling sharks all night long. Who even needs nightmares? Naturally, the listing for the night at the aquarium has a few house rules. Guests are advised to refrain from taking selfies, avoid seeing Jaws in the nights prior to the visit and to "keep heads and feet in the bedroom at all times". The Airbnb host is freediver and underwater photographer Fred Buyle (we checked out his profile, and he seems legit). He'll introduce the guests to their neighbours for the night, take them on a tour of the aquarium and even get in the tank and "dance" with the sharks. The best news about all of this is that Airbnb will fly the winners to Paris from anywhere in the world. To enter, you've just got to tell Airbnb a little about yourself, where you live and why you belong with the sharks for a night in 550 words of less. Enter here by 11.59pm CET on April 3. Let's hope your Airbnb reviews are good ones.
Josh Niland has achieved a lot. He's opened many of Australia's top restaurants, written two acclaimed books (and just dropped a third), challenged how we see seafood in the kitchen and been named in the world's top 100 best chefs. Now, he's taking his success to the world, opening his first international restaurant at The Singapore Edition hotel. Niland's new opening will be the signature restaurant at the soon-to-open 204-room hotel, Edition's first foray into Southeast Asia. At the core of its offerings will be the chef's distinct passion for sustainable seafood — but, unlike Niland's Sydney openings, the hotel venue will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. After initially making a splash with Saint Peter, Josh and his partner Julie Niland have taken the Sydney culinary scene by storm with a series of openings including Fish Butchery, Charcoal Fish and Petermen. The duo are also revamping The Grand National Hotel, moving Saint Peter from Oxford Street into the pub. Niland's Singapore outpost will be one of five restaurants and bars that are set to open inside The Singapore Edition. The lavish accommodation is located in the downtown Orchard district and also promises to offer a rooftop pool, a spa and a fitness centre. [caption id="attachment_910017" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Petermen[/caption] The menu will be a la carte, featuring fish cut to order including rib on the bone, crown roasts and cutlets. As with all of Niland's operations, the restaurant will work with world-class ethical producers and suppliers — and minimising waste will be a top priority, with the menus at the restaurant and lobby bar working in unison to ensure all produce is used to its fullest. The Singapore restaurant doesn't have an exact open date quite yet, but it's expected to swing open its doors in November of this year. [caption id="attachment_771911" align="alignnone" width="1920"] by Rob Palmer, from Josh Niland's The Whole Fish Cookbook[/caption] If you want to get a taste of this world-class sustainable seafood operation without venturing over to Singapore, you have a few options. Book a table at the intimate Saint Peter for the classic Niland experience, or head to Charcoal Fish for a more casual takeaway-style offering. And, you can venture over to St Leonards for his newest offering Petermen, which just launched a weekly pescetarian-friendly Sunday roast. [caption id="attachment_826817" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Saint Peter[/caption] Josh Niland's new Singapore venue will open at The Singapore Edition, 38 Cuscaden Road, Singapore — it's expected to launch in November 2023. Top image: Alan Benson.
UPDATE: OCTOBER 3, 2020 — Due to worldwide cinema closures and other concerns around COVID-19, No Time to Die will no longer release on Thursday, November 12. Instead, it will now release on Thursday, April 1, 2021. This article has been updated to reflect that change. To find out more about the status of COVID-19 in Australia and how to protect yourself, head to the Australian Government Department of Health's website. Shaken (not stirred) martinis are back on the menu, and so are suave secret agents, sinister plots to destroy the world and big-screen espionage thrills. Yes, it's James Bond time again, with No Time to Die finally set to reach cinemas in 2021 — and dropping a brand new trailer to tease the British spy's 25th official cinematic outing. On offer, as fans initially glimpsed in the first sneak peek in 2019, are all the franchise staples. World-in-peril action, savvy ladies, plenty of gadgets, eye-popping stunts and spectacles, an Aston Martin — they're all accounted for. And, because no Bond movie would be complete without a formidable villain, No Time to Die serves up two: an unhinged, mask-wearing new adversary called Safin (Bohemian Rhapsody Oscar-winner Rami Malek), plus imprisoned ex-opponent Blofeld (Christoph Waltz). Daniel Craig returns as 007, marking not only his fifth stint as the spy since 2006's Casino Royale, but his last — and he has company in the 00 stakes. Following the events of 2015's Spectre, Bond has left active service and started a new life in Jamaica, causing MI6 to recruit someone else to cover his turf. That'd be new agent Nomi (Captain Marvel's Lashana Lynch), and you can obviously expect the pair to cross paths. Bond being Bond, he was never going to be able to escape his line of work easily, after all. Here, he's brought back in by CIA agent Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright) to help with a mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist. Directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga (True Detective, Maniac) and penned by a team that includes Fukunaga, The Report director Scott Z Burns and Fleabag's Phoebe Waller-Bridge, this Bond instalment also brings back all the usual Bond offsiders. Ralph Fiennes returns as M, alongside Naomie Harris as Eve Moneypenny, Ben Whishaw as Q and Rory Kinnear as MI6 head Bill Tanner. Lea Seydoux is back as psychiatrist Dr Madeleine Swan, too — and, reuniting with Craig after co-starring in the fabulously entertaining Knives Out last year, Ana de Armas also joins the cast. Of course, as Bond aficionados won't have forgotten, No Time to Die has had to overcome a few setbacks off-screen on its path to cinemas. Originally it was due to release in April this year, but became one of the first films to delay its opening date due to COVID-19. It was then slated to hit the big screen in November, but has now been postponed until April 2021. Watch the new No Time to Die trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vw2FOYjCz38 No Time to Die will no longer hit Australian cinemas on November 12, 2020, with its release date postponed until April 1, 2021. Top image: James Bond (Daniel Craig) and Paloma (Ana de Armas) in No Time to Die, an EON Productions and Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios film. Credit: Nicola Dove. © 2020 DANJAQ, LLC AND MGM. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
If it's one of those weeks that feels like an eternity — and it's only Tuesday — it's time to step up your mid-week relaxation game with a session in a float tank. KOA Recovery in Waterloo offers 60-minute floats for $79. First time giving flotation a go? Expect to spend an hour bobbing, feeling weightless in an egg-like bath filled with warm water and Epsom salts. Designed to block out all external distractions, spending time in a float tank has been shown to alleviate aches, stress, anxiety and depression, and even stimulate creativity. Just what your Tuesday slump needs.
If you thought the full possibilities of the sci-fi genre had been plumbed by that episode of Doctor Who the other week where the human space colony of the 29th century have to vote every five years to 'protest' or 'forget' the secret exploitation at the heart of their thriving space society ('cause I totally did) — think again. This Session #3 of the Creative Sydney festival rips the sci-fi playbook out of the hands of its nerd guardians and tosses it back and forth between hi-tech jocks and lo-fi hipsters. Dorkbot, Even Books and the Australian Theatre for Young People guide the evening on its way, and that should assure you you're in good hands. Toy Death — not content with instruments they didn't invent themselves nor the frequencies of sound accepted by established science — will be playing their repurposed toys, Beef Knuckles will be supplying Robot Love comics with space for you to fill in the blanks and Radar Synthesizer and Dubtable will be setting the mood with impressive installations. Your robot dance moves are, just this once, encouraged. This session is presented by Concrete Playground. To guarantee your spot, register on the Creative Sydney website.
If you're after an unconventional stay in the countryside, this pimped-out 1949 London double-decker bus is sure to satisfy. Located in Artisans Park, near Bathurst, this accommodation has a double bed and two singles in the upper deck, so it's great for a getaway with mates or for a family. In the lower deck, you'll find a kitchen and bathroom and doors which open onto a covered BBQ area. It's got an indoor fireplace, heating and outdoor firepit for those cold winter nights, plus epic views across the region and access to private bush tracks. Overall, it's a good pitstop if you're exploring NSW's Central West region, including a place to rest your head after visiting a few local cellar doors. [caption id="attachment_771667" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Riparide[/caption]
The new Sydney label/collective/party No Good have been killing it so far this year. Off the back of their monthly sessions comes the boutique festival No Good: Winter, the first in a series of quarterly events from the people who promise to bring you sounds you’ve never heard before — and all of them local. The label prides itself on uncovering the most inventive and influential new music from this city, so fittingly the lineup is a super diverse mix of emerging Sydney talent. Bands, DJs, rappers and producers will come together for the full-day affair, headed up by Rainbow Chan and Maatzi. Think new music that’s variously haunting, synthy, playful, psychedelic, dreamy and plain weird. It's all happening this Queen's Birthday long weekend at the Petersham Bowling Club, and, contrary to the name, it’s a pretty good excuse to get down on a Sunday.
To help you make the most of Sydney's balmy nights, the Museum of Contemporary Art has a launched new weekly after-hours program, aptly dubbed MCA Late. The event is taking over the much-loved arts space from 5–9pm every Friday till the end of April, so you can watch the sunset on the working week. And did we mention it's free? Take a stroll through the Museum and you'll catch performances by performance artists and musicians, including Nicola Morton, Phantom Chips, Loose-y Crunché, Papaphilia and Moniker Gronk. And, you can join American-born Aussie artist Kate Just in a 20-minute chat as she completes the final panels of her project Anonymous was a woman. Or, you can grab a drink at the rooftop cafe and soak up the spectacular harbour views. For April, the gallery has collaborated with Surry Hills' old-world movie house and bar Golden Age, too, so expect more than just your average glass of vino. Instead, you'll be sipping a double yuzu margarita, a spiced berry negroni or a popcorn-flavoured old fashioned. [caption id="attachment_806500" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Bianca De Marchi[/caption] To top it off, MCA x FBi Radio's free, monthly live music event, Sounds on the Terrace, has moved to Fridays. The next one happening on April 9 with performances by FBi Radio Dance Class DJs and Skeleten. So, after you wander through the exhibitions, you can climb the stairs and kick back to some live tunes. Sounds on the Terrace features rising stars from Sydney's flourishing music scene. No bookings are required, but we suggest you get there early as numbers are limited. MCA Late takes place from 5–9pm every Friday till April 30. For more information, head to the MCA website. Top images (in order): Sam Whiteside, Bianca De Marchi, Jordan Munns and Liam Cameron
In 1961, on an assignment from the New Yorker, superstar academic Hannah Arendt travelled to her native Germany to cover the trial of Adolf Eichmann, 'architect of the Holocaust'. Instead of being struck by his coldness or inhumanity at the trial, Arendt found Eichmann an "unimpressive" and "unremarkable" figure who presented himself a bureaucrat who merely followed orders. Her reaction was not the one she expected, nor one many people wanted to hear, but her bafflement went on to inform a work which helped readers understand how an almost unfathomably dark chapter in human history had unfolded. The main focus of the biopic Hannah Arendt is the fallout after that article (which was expanded into a book) was published. Many thought it a betrayal of her own Jewish heritage or a slanderous, self-serving provocation. The university where she once received gooey-eyed affection from her adoring students asks her to justify her continued employment there and social schisms spring up as former friends and allies turn against her. Directed in solid, determinedly no-frills style by Margarethe Von Trotta, Hannah Arendt is a reminder that a work which is now almost universally accepted as a key insight into the horrors of the Holocaust and the operation of a genocidal machine was considered incendiary and worse at the time of publication. Read our full review of Hannah Arendt here. Hannah Arendt is in cinemas on Thursday, March 13, and thanks to Curious Distribution, we have ten double in-season passes to give away. To be in the running, subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter (if you haven't already), then email us with your name and address. Sydney: win.sydney@concreteplayground.com.au Melbourne: win.melbourne@concreteplayground.com.au Brisbane: win.brisbane@concreteplayground.com.au https://youtube.com/watch?v=WTQNWgZVctM
"For never was a story of more woe," said William Shakespeare of Romeo & Juliet. To be accurate, he had the iconic play announce that itself in its second-last line. In the four centuries since the famed tale was first penned, never was there a tragic romance that's better known, either. Few works have been adapted and performed as much as this story of the warring Montague and Capulet families, and the heartbreak that ensues when their children fall in love — but Benjamin Millepied's Romeo & Juliet suite still stands out. Australian audiences will be able to discover why for themselves when winter hits in 2024, when the world-famous choreographer's take on Shakespeare's star-crossed lovers will make its Aussie debut. Playing exclusively at the Sydney Opera House from Wednesday, June 5–Sunday, June 9, the ballet will fill the Joan Sutherland Theatre and other spaces with a mix of dance, theatre and cinema that defies genres, as well as a modernisation of the narrative that sees love first, not gender. Three versions comprise the suite, each with a different couple. On the production's first night and its Saturday matinee, an all-male pairing will bring Romeo & Juliet to life. On the second evening and the Saturday night, two female dancers will play the lead parts. And on the Friday and Sunday, a male-female duo will take to the stage. Millepied's Romeo & Juliet hails from the LA Dance Project, which he co-founded and acts as its Artistic Director. The company's ensemble will perform on the opera house's stage and also throughout the building, which is then broadcast live back to the audience inside the Joan Sutherland Theatre. So, the Romeo & Juliet suite plays with form, too — and even if you think you've seen every iteration of R&J before, this one is unique. Bringing the ballet Down Under for the first time marks Millepied's latest project in Australia. His last: making his film directorial debut with Carmen, which starred Melissa Barrera (Scream) and Paul Mescal (All of Us Strangers), reimagined Prosper Mérimée's novella and Georges Bizet's opera, and shot in the outback New South Wales town of Broken Hill. The dancer, choreographer and filmmaker's resume before that spans joining the New York Ballet as a teen, choreographing and co-starring in Black Swan, a stint as Paris Opera Ballet's Director of Dance and creating the sandwalk for Denis Villeneuve's versions of Dune. "I am deeply proud of LA Dance Project, the artistic journey I've embarked on over the past decade alongside my dedicated partner Lucinda Lent and our exceptional team. The opportunity for our company to grace the stage of the Sydney Opera House is a dream realised," said Millepied, announcing the Romeo & Juliet suite's Australian debut. "This moment holds profound significance, not only because the Sydney Opera House is an emblem of global culture, but also because Australia and its people hold a unique space in my heart. Sydney, I eagerly anticipate our reunion!" The Romeo & Juliet suite will take over the Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House from Wednesday, June 5–Sunday, June 9, 2024. For more information and tickets, head to the venue's website — with presales from 9am on Tuesday, February 6 and general sales from 9am on Friday, February 9. Read our interview with Benjamin Millepied about Carmen. Images: Julien Benhamou, Paul Bourdrel and Josh Rose.
Everyone knows there are secret Sydneys. Not just waterfront apartments and gothic mansions of state, but quieter faces — the back rooms, offices, tunnels and storehouses that make the city function, or once did. Stone, glass, brick, old, new — scattered, strange buildings around the city that make you think. Sydney Open throws back the veil for a weekend, letting Sydneysiders peek behind the scenes. There are focus tours of individual properties over the whole weekend, while on Sunday there is a city-wide wander – from Pyrmont in the west, east to Macquarie Street, south as far as Broadway and north to the flat expanse of Barangaroo. Have a look at sandstone wonders — the 1920 flatiron-style Radisson Plaza Hotel Sydney, or the ornate, colonial faux-italiante Department of Education and Chief Secretary’s Buildings. Radio 2SER's newish studios are open, as is the environmentally-friendly workplace6 — which also happens to house Google's Australian headquarters. The stunningly staircased National Mutual Building, antenna-capped AWA Building and some looming Martin Place banks round out the twentieth-century offerings. There's a look at the site-to-be of Sydney's Central Park and the mysterious Judge's House behind the George Street Cinemas. So get the map, get nosy and get a look behind the curtain. Image by Jason7825.
Every film festival has its highlights, and its events that make each specific fest special. For the Melbourne International Film Festival, its Hear My Eyes gigs are one such standout. With movies such as Drive, Girlhood, Suspiria and Two Hands, MIFF has brought beloved and classic flicks back to the big screen, accompanied by a live — and all-new, completely original — score that's played while film lovers sit, watch and listen. It's as unique a movie-going experience as you can get, even if you've seen the feature in the spotlight countless times before — and for MIFF 2022, another exceptional film is getting the Hear My Eyes treatment. Get ready to revisit the role that made Eric Bana an international movie star, and to dive back into one of the most infamous crime tales in Australian history. In other words, get ready for Chopper. Twenty-two years after it first hit cinemas, the exceptional Andrew Dominik (This Much I Know to Be True)-directed flick will grace The Astor Theatre's big screen for one night only, on Wednesday, August 17, with sessions at 6.15pm and 9pm. It'll also pair its visuals with a brand-new original live score, as spearheaded by Mick Harvey, member of the Bad Seeds, and the musician who originally gave Chopper its soundtrack. As well as composing the new score, Harvey will be joined by supergroup Springtime — featuring Gareth Liddiard from Tropical Fuck Storm and The Drones, Jim White from Dirty Three and Chris Abrahams from The Necks — to play it live. That big-screen date with Uncle Chop Chop is all well, great and fantastic for Melburnians, with tickets on sale from 10am on Thursday, June 16 — but it's also excellent for Sydneysiders, too. Outside of MIFF, Hear My Eyes will bring its Chopper performance to the New South Wales capital, at City Recital Hall, at 6pm on Saturday, August 27. Tickets for the Sydney show go on sale at 9.30am on Thursday, June 16. Check out the trailer for Chopper below: HEAR MY EYES 2022: Wednesday, August 17 — 6.15pm and 9pm, The Astor Theatre as part of the Melbourne International Film Festival Saturday, August 27 — 6pm, City Recital Hall, Sydney Hear My Eyes' Chopper screenings with Springtime + Mick Harvey start touring the country in August. For more information or to buy tickets, head to the Melbourne International Film Festival and Hear My Eyes websites. The 2022 Melbourne International Film Festival runs from Thursday, August 4–Sunday, August 28 at a variety of venues around Melbourne and Victoria, and online. For further details, including the full program from Tuesday, July 12, visit the MIFF website.
Returning for its seventh year, Sydney Beer Week — which has this year dropped the 'craft' from its name — celebrates beer in all its golden greatness this October. Running from Friday, October 20 through to Sunday, October 29, the ten-day celebration is packed full of events and activities that will grasp the interest of beer novices and connoisseurs alike. These will take place at several locations across Sydney — and there's quite the list to choose from. One notable event is the Hair of the Dog Breakfast, where the Rocks Brewing Company will throw a mighty six-course breakfast paired with eight beers promising to be one of the best hangover cures we've heard of. You'll need it if you're heading to any of the other events, like the kick-off party full of brews and food trucks at the Australian Maritime Museum. Or The Grifter Brewing Co.'s dog-friendly event at their Marrickville brewery. You can find the full event list on the Sydney Beer Week's website, but to make it a little easier we have picked five events that we think are worth checking out. There's no doubt SBW will leave you better quenched, better fed and better educated in beer-related matters than it found you.
Not all that long ago, the idea of getting cosy on your couch, clicking a few buttons, and having thousands of films and television shows at your fingertips seemed like something out of science fiction. Now, it's just an ordinary night — whether you're virtually gathering the gang to text along, cuddling up to your significant other or shutting the world out for some much needed me-time. Of course, given the wealth of options to choose from, there's nothing ordinary about making a date with your chosen streaming platform. The question isn't "should I watch something?" — it's "what on earth should I choose?". Hundreds of titles are added to Australia's online viewing services each and every month, all vying for a spot on your must-see list. And, so you don't spend 45 minutes scrolling and then being too tired to actually commit to anything, we're here to help. We've spent plenty of couch time watching our way through this month's latest batch — and, from the latest and greatest through to old and recent favourites, here are our picks for your streaming queue from May's haul. Brand-New Stuff You Can Watch From Start to Finish Now Hacks Sometimes you need to wait for the things you love. In Hacks, that's true off- and on-screen. It's been two years since the HBO comedy last dropped new episodes, after its first season was one of the best new shows of 2021 and its second one of the best returning series of 2022 — a delay first sparked by star Jean Smart (Babylon) requiring heart surgery, and then by 2023's Hollywood strikes. But this Emmy- and Golden Globe-winner returns better than ever in season three as it charts Smart's Deborah Vance finally getting a shot at a job that she's been waiting her entire career for. After scoring a huge hit with her recent comedy special, which was a product of hiring twentysomething writer Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder, Julia), the Las Vegas mainstay has a new chance at nabbing a late-night hosting gig. (Yes, fictional takes on after-dark talk shows are having a moment, thanks to Late Night with the Devil and now this.) At times, some in Deborah's orbit might be tempted to borrow the Australian horror movie's title to describe to assisting her pitch for a post-primetime chair. That'd be a harsh comment, but savage humour has always been part of this showbiz comedy about people who tell jokes for a living. While Deborah gets roasted in this season, spikiness is Hacks' long-established baseline — and also the armour with which its behind-the-mic lead protects herself from life's and the industry's pain, disappointments and unfairness. Barbs can also be Deborah's love language, as seen in her banter with Ava. When season two ended, their tumultuous professional relationship had come to an end again via Deborah, who let her writer go to find bigger opportunities. A year has now passed when season three kicks off. Ava is a staff writer on a Last Week Tonight with John Oliver-type series in Los Angeles and thriving, but she's also not over being fired. Back in Vanceland , everything is gleaming — but Deborah isn't prepared for being a phenomenon. She wants it. She's worked for years for it. It's taken until her 70s to get it. But her presence alone being cause for frenzy, rather than the scrapping she's done to stay in the spotlight, isn't an easy adjustment. Hacks streams via Stan. Read our full review. Bodkin When podcasting grasped onto IRL mysteries and the world listened, it started a 21st-century circle of true crime obsessions. First, the audio format dived into the genre. Next, screens big and small gave it renewed attention, not that either ever shirked reality's bleakest details. Now, movies and TV shows are known to spin stories around folks investigating such cases to make podcasts, turning detective as they press record. And, as Only Murders in the Building did, sometimes there's also a podcast venturing behind the scenes of a fictional affair about podcasters sleuthing a case. While Bodkin mightn't come with an accompanying digital audio series stepping into its minutiae, it does take its fellow murder-mystery comedy's lead otherwise. Swaps are made — West Cork is in, New York is out; deaths pile up in an Irish village, not an apartment building; three chalk-and-cheese neighbours give way to a trio of mismatched journalists — but the shared format is as plain to see as blood splatter. Call that part of the 21st-century circle of true crime obsessions, too, as one hit inspires more. Bodkin is easy to get hooked on as well, even if it's not as guaranteed to return for additional seasons. Siobhán Cullen (The Dry), Will Forte (Strays) and Robyn Cara (Mixtape) give this seven-part series its investigating threesome: Irishwoman-in-London Dove Maloney, a hard-nosed reporter who just lost a source on a big story; American Gilbert Power, who capitalised upon his wife's cancer for his first podcast hit; and enthusiastic researcher Emmy Sizergh, who wants to be Dove and, much to her idol's dismay, is fine with following Gilbert's lead to get there. They're thrown together in the show's titular town not by Dove's choice, but because she's bundled off by her editor. Gilbert and Emmy are well-aware that she's not there willingly — Dove isn't the type to hide her disdain for anything, be it her latest assignment, Gilbert's medium of choice and his approach, and Emmy's eagerness. Bodkin beckons courtesy of a cold case from a quarter-century back when the village gathered for its then-annual Samhain festival (an influence upon Halloween). Three people disappeared, which Gilbert is certain is a killer hook for the next big hit he desperately needs for the sake of both his reputation and his finances; however, Dove is adamant that there's much more going on than the narrative that Gilbert has already decided to tell. Bodkin streams via Netflix. Read our full review. Outer Range It was true of season one of Outer Range and it doesn't stop proving the case in season two: thinking about Twin Peaks, Yellowstone, Lost, The X-Files, The Twilight Zone and primetime melodramas while you're watching this sci-fi western series is unavoidable. In its second go-around, throw in Dark, too, and also True Detective. Here, an eerie void on a Wyoming cattle ranch sends people hurtling through time, rather than a cave beneath a nuclear power plant — and that concept, time, is dubbed a river instead of a flat circle. The idea behind Outer Range, as conjured up creator Brian Watkins for its debut season in 2022, has always been intriguing: what if a tunnel of blackness topped by a mist of floating energy suddenly opened up in the earth? Also, where would this otherworldly chasm lead? What would be the consequences of taking a tumble into its inky expanse? What does it mean? It isn't literally a mystery box Dark Matter-style, but it also still is in everything but shape — while contemplating what effect such a phenomena has on a rancher family that's worked the land that the ethereal cavern appears on for generations, as well as upon the broader small-town community of Wabang. Getting trippy came with the territory in season one, in an entrancing blend of the out-there and the earthy. Season two doubles down, dives in deeper and gallops across its chosen soil — a mix of the surreal and the soapy as well — with even more gusto. Just like with a vacuum that materialises on an otherwise ordinary-seeming paddock, no one should be leaping into Outer Range's second season unprepared. This isn't a series to jump into with no prior knowledge, or to just pick up along the way. It isn't simply the premise that Outer Range takes its time to reveal in all of its intricacy, a process that remains ongoing in season two; the characters, including Abbott patriarch Royal (Josh Brolin, Dune: Part Two), his wife Cecilia (Lili Taylor, Manhunt), their sons Perry (Tom Pelphrey, Love & Death) and Rhett (Lewis Pullman, Lessons in Chemistry), and stranger-in-their-midst Autumn (Imogen Poots, The Teacher), receive the same treatment. Outer Range streams via Prime Video. Read our full review. Jim Henson Idea Man Making a documentary about Jim Henson can't be a difficult task. He's the man who created The Muppets, co-created Sesame Street, co-helmed The Dark Crystal and directed Labyrinth — and stepping through all four, complete with footage from them and behind-the-scenes clips as well, could fuel several portraits of the iconic puppeteer. Jim Henson Idea Man features plenty from that key Henson quartet, all teeming with insights. When viewers aren't getting a peek at The Muppet Show being made, they're exploring the technical trickery behind Kermit singing 'Rainbow Connection' in the swamp in The Muppet Movie. Or, if you're not hearing about how the Bert and Ernie dynamic was fuelled by Henson and Frank Oz's real-life personalities, you're being taken through the first version of The Dark Crystal where little was in any known language, then hearing from Jennifer Connelly (Dark Matter) about the picture that made "dance, magic dance" one of the most-famous lines from a movie song. Ron Howard (Thirteen Lives) has a dream job, then. He also makes the most of everything that a tribute to Henson needs. But, affectionate as it was always going to be — Henson is that rightly beloved, and always will be — his doco also dives deeper. Talking heads, including Oz (Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker), other colleagues and Henson's four surviving children, are on hand to chat through the man behind the on-screen magic amid the treasure trove of material. Again, this Cannes-premiering documentary is a tribute and an authorised one, but it also examines the impact of its subject's devotion to his work on his marriage, as well as on his wife and fellow puppeteer Jane's career. Howard and screenwriter Mark Monroe (The Beach Boys) are loving but clear-eyed in their approach — and wide-spanning in their range for anyone who hasn't delved into much of Henson's work beyond The Muppets, Sesame Street, The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth. As it hops through a birth-to-death timeline, the attention given to Henson's experimental films is essential and a delight. For 1965's Time Piece, he was nominated for an Academy Award, with the short held up here as a key to understanding the inner Henson beyond his public persona. Getting viewers discovering or rediscovering that piece, and what it conveys about its creator, is high among Jim Henson Idea Man's many gifts. Jim Henson Idea Man streams via Disney+. Eric In the space of a mere two days to close out May, two tales of two puppeteers have popped up on streaming. Eric is pure fiction, but it's impossible not to think about Jim Henson while watching it, regardless of whether you also have a small-screen date with Jim Henson Idea Man. Creator and writer Abi Morgan — who has previously penned the likes of Shame, The Iron Lady, The Invisible Woman, Suffragette, River and The Split — puts a Henson-esque figure with his own hit TV show for kids at the core of her six-part miniseries. Played by Benedict Cumberbatch (The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar) in a performance that's bound to receive awards attention, Vincent Anderson even physically resembles the man behind The Muppets and Sesame Street, but he definitely isn't Henson. Firstly, Anderson is an abusive alcoholic. Secondly, his nine-year-old son Edgar (debutant Ivan Morris Howe) goes missing one morning on his walk to school. And thirdly, the eponymous Eric is a seven-foot-tall monster muppet who his boy scribbled to life on the page and then starts following Vincent as his mental health struggles after Edgar disappears. As a series, the 1985-set Eric is ambitious — and, as well as exceptionally acted, also instantly involving and deeply layered as it ponders how a sunny world can turn unkind, cruel and corrupt. It's an ordinary day when Edgar trundles out his New York City door alone, and routine even in the fact that Vincent and his wife Cassie (Gaby Hoffmann, C'mon C'mon) have been fighting. But soon the Anderson family is plunged into crisis. As he frays visibly, Vincent still can't tear himself away from work, becoming obsessed with turning Eric into his show's newest character. Cassie is certain that reward money from her husband's rich parents, who he's estranged from, will help rustle up information on her son's whereabouts. At the NYPD, detective Michael Ledroit (McKinley Belcher III, One Piece) is working the case while handling his own baggage. He's still trying to find another missing kid from 11 months ago, too, but with far less support because that child is Black. Ledroit is also a closeted gay Black man in a workplace and at a time that's hardly welcoming, with a dying partner at home. Eric streams via Netflix. Read our full review. The Veil It's simple to glean how and why Elisabeth Moss (Next Goal Wins) was cast as The Veil's Imogen Salter, the MI6 agent whose speciality is complex undercover gigs, even if the part in this six-episode miniseries initially seems like the opposite of her recent work. In The Handmaid's Tale, Shining Girls and The Invisible Man, trauma and abuse came her characters' ways — but the flipside, of course, is persisting, enduring and fighting back. The inner steeliness that it takes to survive dystopian subjugation, domestic violence and an assault isn't far removed from the outward resolve that Imogen wears like a second skin. The more that The Veil goes on, the more that the show and Moss unpack why its key intelligence agent sports such armour, plus the emotional underpinning that's definitely familiar territory for the actor. The role by the end of the series screams her name, in fact, but the cool, calm, collected and ass-kicking Imogen does as well. Watching Moss as a top-of-her-game spy who puts everyone in their place is the kind of idea that should always get an immediate green light. The Veil is gripping from start to finish, and also a better show because it has Moss at its centre. Imogen isn't her character's real name, a detail that's par for the course in espionage antics and also symbolic of someone trying to construct a new facade atop pain that won't fade. Her latest gig puts Adilah El Idrissi (Yumna Marwan, The Stranger's Case) in her sights, a woman who similarly mightn't be who she says she is. At a snowy refugee camp (Australian Wakefield actor Dan Wyllie plays its man in charge) on the border of Turkey and Syria, the latter is attacked for her purported ties to ISIS — not just as an operative but as a mastermind, which she denies. Working with French DGES agent Malik Amar (Dali Benssalah, Street Flow 2) and American CIA agent Max Peterson (Josh Charles, The Power), Imogen's task is to obtain the truth out of Adilah, who says that she just wants to get back to her young daughter. It's also plain to see why creator and writer Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders, SAS Rogue Heroes), plus directors Daina Reid (a Shining Girls and The Handmaid's Tale alum) and Damon Thomas (The Big Cigar), put Moss and the also-excellent Marwan together for much of the series. The Veil streams via Disney+. The Idea of You He's just a boy, standing in front of a girl, asking her to love him. The Idea of You doesn't use specific those words, aka a gender-flipped version of the Notting Hill quote that became entrenched in popular consciousness a quarter century ago, but it follows the same broad tale and conveys that exact sentiment. He is Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine, Mary & George), the twentysomething pop idol who fronts British boy band August Moon. She is divorcee Solène Marchand (Anne Hathaway, Armageddon Time), an art dealer hitting her 40s who's a mother to teenage Izzy (Ella Rubin, Masters of the Air). And as they meet-cute — not at a bookstore but at Coachella, where Solène is escorting her daughter and her friends to see August Moon, including a VIP meet-and-greet with Hayes and his bandmates backstage — there's no avoiding thinking about Hugh Grant (Unfrosted) and Julia Roberts (Leave the World Behind). Thanks to the internet, although author Robinne Lee has rebuffed the idea that she wrote the novel The Idea of You as fan fiction, there's no escaping Harry Styles popping into your head, either. Actor-turned-writer Lee (Kaleidoscope) knows a thing or two about fanfic: she featured in the movie adaptations of the Fifty Shades books. But the potential Styles of it all doesn't matter when the style of the tale, especially on-screen, is a rom-com about a woman being seen at a time in her life when traditionally the opposite happens. There shouldn't be an air of wish fulfilment to this story in a perfect world, or a race to join the dots to connect it to a celebrity and make that the crux of the narrative's importance. Writer/director Michael Showalter (Spoiler Alert) and co-screenwriter Jennifer Westfeldt (The First Lady), both of whom are actors themselves, thankfully don't opt for that path. Instead, while the movie's characters could've used more flesh in the script and cliches remain apparent, The Idea of You gets layered performances out of Hathaway and Galitzine to make its setup feel emotionally authentic. The details: that cute meeting, her reluctance, his perseverance, chasing their hearts on August Moon's tour of Europe, then navigating the reality behind the fantasy. The Idea of You streams via Prime Video. The Tattooist of Auschwitz How do you bring a tale of the holocaust's horrors and the human spirit's tenacity to the screen when it's as complicated as The Tattooist of Auschwitz? Many of complexities surrounding Heather Morris' book aren't on the page, but rather in the story's dialogue between truth and fiction — with the narrative based on a real-life concentration camp survivor's recollections, but questions raised about inaccuracies in the text's account. As a six-part miniseries, The Tattooist of Auschwitz confronts the queries surrounding its contents, which reached shelves in 2018, by constantly noting how unreliable that memories can be. Each episode opens with "based on the memories of holocaust survivor Lali Sokolov" before sections of the phrase fades, leaving just "the memories of Lali Sokolov" lingering. Backtracking as the elderly Lali (Harvey Keitel, Paradox Effect) recounts his time at Auschwitz to probe how true the specifics are, offer different versions, revise the minutiae and sway the perspective is also an element of the show, as are other figures — such as Stefan Baretzki (Jonas Nay, Concordia), an SS officer overseeing the younger Lali (Jonah Hauer-King, The Little Mermaid) — appearing like ghosts to put forward another viewpoint. Screenwriters Jacquelin Perske (Fires), Gabbie Asher (Sanctuary) and Evan Placey (Soulmates) — and also director Tali Shalom-Ezer (The Psychologist), who helms the entire miniseries — frame The Tattooist of Auschwitz as a portrait of a man looking back at his life and an examination of the fact that every recounting is always guided by storytelling choices. It's a canny move, recognising that Lali's experiences as a Slovakian Jewish prisoner during World War II can only be filtered through his eyes, especially as gutwrenching horror surrounds him but love still springs. Being enlisted with the titular job, which brings a sliver of benefits and freedoms within the camp; falling for fellow detainee Gita (Anna Próchniak, Unmoored) while he's inking; the fraught nature of their fight to be together in such grim circumstances; the reality of death everywhere around them; his relationship with the volatile Baretzki: as Lali at age 87 chats through it with aspiring writer Morris (Melanie Lynskey, Yellowjackets), that this is his journey and that his recounting isn't infallible remain constantly in mind. Keitel is particularly excellent, but the most haunting element of the compelling series, unsurprisingly, is the moments that it spends with the dead — moments where there's no possibility of different perceptions — who stare straight to camera when they pass. The Tattooist of Auschwitz streams via Stan. New and Returning Shows to Check Out Week by Week Colin From Accounts When Colin From Accounts arrived for its first season in 2022 with a nipple flash, a dog and strangers committing to take care of a cute injured pooch together, it also began with a "will they, won't they?" story. Ashley (Harriet Dyer, The Invisible Man) and Gordon (Patrick Brammall, Evil) crossed paths in the street in Sydney when she gave him a random peek, then he was distracted behind the wheel. Thanks to the titular pet, the pair were soon intricately involved in each other's lives — and a delightful small-screen Aussie rom-com was the end result as they endeavoured to work out what that actually meant. In season two, which picks up after the duo gave Colin From Accounts to new owners and then immediately regretted the decision, a couple of things are different from the outset: Gordon and Ashley are on a quest to get their pup back and they'll stop at almost nothing for their family to be reunited, and this award-winning series is now in "should've they or should've they not?" territory about its central romance. Falling in love is easy. Being in the honeymoon period, whether or not you've actually tied the knot — Colin From Accounts' protagonists haven't — is clearcut, too. Taking a relationship further means peeling away the rosy and glowing surface, however, which is where the series follows its medical student and microbrewery owner in its second season. Accordingly, through surprising news, meeting family members, historical baggage and more, Ashley and Gordon are still trying to navigate the reality of intertwining their lives, and also who they are as a couple. Creators, writers and stars Dyer and Brammall keep performing their parts to perfection; given they're married IRL and no strangers to working together (see: No Activity), the chemistry and naturalism isn't hard to maintain, but they're not just playing themselves. They're also particularly gifted with dialogue, ensuring that everything that the show's characters are saying — be it amusing, heartfelt, acerbic, insightful or all of the above — always feels authentic. Colin From Accounts streams via Binge. Read our full review. Dark Matter When an Australian actor makes it big, it can feel as if there's more than one of them. Joel Edgerton, who has been on local screens for almost three decades and made the leap to Hollywood with the Australian-shot Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones, is such a talent. He's usually everywhere and in almost everything (such as The Stranger, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Thirteen Lives, Master Gardener, I'm a Virgo, The Boys in the Boat and Bluey in just the past two years), and viewers would follow him anywhere. Dark Matter wasn't written to capitalise upon that idea. Rather, it hails from the page of Blake Crouch's 2016 novel, with the author also creating the new nine-part sci-fi series that it's based on. But the show's lead casting leans into the notion that you can never have too much Edgerton by multiplying him in the multiverse. For the characters in Dark Matter, however, the fact that there's more than a single Jason Dessen causes considerable issues. The series' protagonist is a former experimental physics genius-turned-professor in Chicago. He's married to artist-turned-gallerist Daniela (Jennifer Connelly, Bad Behaviour), a father to teenager Charlie (Oakes Fegley, The Fabelmans) and the best friend of award-winning college pal Ryan Holder (Jimmi Simpson, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia). And, he's been happy living the quiet family life, although pangs of envy quietly arise when he's celebrating Ryan's prestigious new accolade. Then, when another Jason pops up to pull off a kidnapping and doppelgänger plot, he's soon navigating a cross between Sliding Doors and Everything Everywhere All At Once. Everything is a multiverse tale of late, but Dark Matter is also a soul-searching "what if?" drama, exploring the human need to wonder what might've been if just one choice — sometimes big, sometimes small — had veered in a different direction. While a box is pivotal mode of transport like this is Doctor Who, as are all manner of worlds to visit, this is high-concept sci-fi at its most grounded. Neither version of Jason wants to hop through parallel worlds in the name of adventure or exploration — they're simply chasing their idea of everyday perfection. Dark Matter streams via Apple TV+. Read our full review. Excellent Recent Films You Might've Missed on the Big Screen Anatomy of a Fall A calypso instrumental cover of 50 Cent's 'P.I.M.P.' isn't the only thing that Anatomy of a Fall's audience won't be able to dislodge from their heads after watching 2023's deserving Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or-winner. A film that's thorny, knotty and defiantly unwilling to give any easy answers, this legal, psychological and emotional thriller about a woman on trial for her husband's death is unshakeable in as many ways as someone can have doubts about another person: so, a myriad. The scenario conjured up by writer/director Justine Triet (Sibyl) is haunting, asking not only if her protagonist committed murder, as the on-screen investigation and courtroom proceedings interrogate, but digging into what it means to be forced to choose between whether someone did the worst or is innocent — or if either matters. While the Gallic legal system provides the backdrop for much of the movie, the real person doing the real picking isn't there in a professional capacity, or on a jury. Rather, it's the 11-year-old boy who loved his dad, finds him lying in the snow with a head injury outside their French Alps home on an otherwise ordinary day, then becomes the key witness in his mum's case. Also impossible to forget: the performances that are so crucial in telling this tale of marital and parental bonds, especially from one of German's current best actors and the up-and-coming French talent playing her son. With her similarly astonishing portrayal in The Zone of Interest, Toni Erdmann and I'm Your Man's Sandra Hüller is two for two in movies that initially debuted globally in 2023; here, she steps into the icy and complicated Sandra Voyter's shoes with the same kind of surgical precision that Triet applies to unpacking the character's home life. As Daniel, who couldn't be more conflicted about the nightmare situation he's been thrust into, Milo Machado Graner (Alex Hugo) is a revelation — frequently via his expressive face and posture alone. If Scenes From a Marriage met Kramer vs Kramer, plus 1959's Anatomy of a Murder that patently influences Anatomy of a Fall's name, this would be the gripping end result — as fittingly written by Triet with her IRL partner Arthur Harari (Onoda: 10,000 Nights in the Jungle). Anatomy of a Fall streams via Stan. Read our full review. May December A line about not having enough hot dogs might be one of its first, but the Julianne Moore (Sharper)-, Natalie Portman (Thor: Love and Thunder)- and Charles Melton (Riverdale)-starring May December is a movie of mirrors and butterflies. In the literal sense, director Todd Haynes wastes few chances to put either in his frames. The Velvet Goldmine, Carol and Dark Waters filmmaker doesn't shy away from symbolism, knowing two truths that stare back at his audience from his latest masterpiece: that what we see when we peer at ourselves in a looking glass isn't what the rest of the world observes, and that life's journey is always one of transformation. Inspired by the real-life Mary Kay Letourneau scandal, May December probes both of these facts as intently as anyone scrutinising their own reflection. Haynes asks viewers to do the same. Unpacking appearance and perception, and also their construction and performance, gazes from this potently thorny — and downright potent — film. That not all metamorphoses end with a beautiful flutter flickers through just as strongly. May December's basis springs from events that received ample press attention in the 90s: schoolteacher Letourneau's sexual relationship with her sixth-grade student Vili Fualaau. She was 34, he was 12. First-time screenwriter Samy Burch changes names and details in her Oscar-nominated script — for Best Original Screenplay, which is somehow the film's only nod by the Academy — but there's no doubting that it takes its cues from this case of grooming, which saw Letourneau arrested, give birth to the couple's two daughters in prison, then the pair eventually marry. 2000 TV movie All-American Girl: The Mary Kay Letourneau Story used the recreation route; however, that was never going to be a Haynes-helmed feature's approach. The comic mention of hot dogs isn't indicative of May December's overall vibe, either: this a savvily piercing film that sees the agonising impact upon the situation's victim, the story its perpetrator has spun around herself, and the relentless, ravenous way that people's lives and tragedies are consumed by the media and public. May December streams via Binge and Prime Video. Read our full review. Need a few more streaming recommendations? Check out our picks from January, February, March and April this year, and also from January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December 2023. You can also check out our running list of standout must-stream shows from last year as well — and our best 15 new shows of 2023, 15 newcomers you might've missed, top 15 returning shows of the year, 15 best films, 15 top movies you likely didn't see, 15 best straight-to-streaming flicks and 30 movies worth catching up on over the summer. Top image: Christine Tamalet / FX.
At last year's Melbourne International Film Festival, Perth-set apocalypse film These Final Hours beat out high-profile competition, including The Turning and Mystery Road, to snag The Age Critics Award for Best Australian Feature. Now, almost 12 months later, the film has finally arrived in theatres. Trust us when we tell you that this movie, blending heart-pounding thrills with character-driven drama, is well worth the wait. By the time the story gets going, the end has already begun, courtesy of a devastating meteor strike somewhere in the North Atlantic. Europe is reduced to a cinder in an instant, while a rolling wall of fire promises to annihilate everywhere else. We're never deluded into thinking that survival is even remotely an option. The only question that remains is what to do with the time that's left. Nathan Phillips, most easily recognisable as one of Mick Taylor's ill-fated victims in the original Wolf Creek, plays James, a self-absorbed screw-up with no intention of going out sober. But life, even in its last few moments, has a way of messing with your plans. So it is that on the way to an end-of-the world blow-out, James becomes the reluctant protector of a 12-year-old girl named Rose (newcomer Angourie Rice). After James rescues her from a pair of would-be rapist, she asks him to help her find her family. Perhaps sensing a chance to atone for his squandered life, our dubious hero agrees. In his first feature outing, writer-director Zak Hilditch seems remarkably assured. His native Perth provides a unique and unsettling backdrop for the film, the haunting images of forsaken Australian suburbia striking eerily close to home. Visuals like that contribute to a suffocating sense of bleakness that hangs over the film like a scorching summer heat. But These Final Hours is not entirely devoid of hope. Fundamentally, in fact, it's a film about redemption — about a single act of kindness in the face of common fear. Phillips' performance is one of resounding emotional honesty, while Rice displays a maturity that far exceeds her years. An unlikely pairing, both James and Rose bring out the strength and humanity in the other. In the face of imminent extinction, it's a surprisingly comforting thought. https://youtube.com/watch?v=QaoF6byFQFU
What would you do if you were a little less freaked out by consequences? Would you talk to more new people, fear a bit less, dance a little more like FKA Twigs, quit your desk job and start that business you've always wanted to give a red hot go? Some sparkling young Australians are already flinging their inhibitions into a ziplock bag and seizing this little ol' life with both hands. Concrete Playground has teamed up with the Jameson crew to give you a sneak peek into the lives of bold characters who took a big chance on themselves. They've gone out on a limb and rewritten their path, encapsulating 'Sine Metu', the Jameson family motto which translates to 'without fear' — getting outside your comfort zone and trying something new. After all, we only get one shot at this. Take notes. Dreaming big is easy. Following through on that dream — that's where the hard work begins. Junky Comics' owner Vlada Edirippulige knows this, but a year after opening her own store, she wouldn't have it any other way. Also known as illustrator Junky and as a member of local band Major Leagues, her commitment to boosting Brisbane's arts scene shows just what can happen when you embody 'Sine Metu', set your mind to something and throw caution to the wind. We had a chat to Vlada about how taking a big chance has paid off in a big way. You can read the interview over here. Want to experience a little bit of 'Sine Metu' yourself? Vlada's being a total legend and helping us give away $1000 worth of rare comic books from her own Junky Comics collection, so you can see for yourself what happens when bold humans take big creative chances with big payoffs. This whopping prize includes the complete Walking Dead series 1-23, Hip Hop Family Tree by Ed Piskor, the complete Scott Pilgrim colour hardcover series and The Complete Wimmen's Comix. Enter here to win. And enjoy Jameson responsibly, folks.
Stephin Merritt's voice mourns as much as it sings. His four bands straddle genres - Future Bible Heroes, The Gothic Archies, The 6ths and The Magnetic Fields - but his voice takes the same mordant pitch in each. Which is ironic, as his music couldn't be more varied; his masterpiece 69 Love Songs, for example, is everything that its title suggests. Now he is the subject of a new documentary Strange Powers, which is being shown at the Chauvel by Popfrenzy in a one-off screening on August the 4th. The apparent contradiction of Stephin Merritt is that for a performer of such complex, expressive lyrics and melodies, his public persona is so dry and unemotional. Watching him being interviewed is watching him being profoundly bored, interspersed with rare flashes of passionate dissertation. Interviewers of Merritt can seem like neglected hangers-on, as you watch them scrabble for purchase in the dead field of his attention. But as far as indie rock gods go, he is the real deal; which is to say he's powerful, mercurial and doesn't care much for your approval. But if you want to see him at his most human, his most approachable, then Strange Powers is the place to start looking.
A few decades ago, marijuana becoming legal in parts of the western world while cigarettes were banned in public venues would have seemed unthinkable. Now, who knows what the future holds for drugs? In this panel discussion, psychoactive medicines are unpacked by Australian experts. Professor Iain McGregor and Dr Samuel Banister work in the field of medicinal cannabis and will be drawing on the findings of their investigations into the changing stance of big pharma. The pair will be joined by Dr Margaret Ross, who is currently running the country's first clinical trial using psilocybin (found in magic mushrooms) and has views that challenge conventional medical perspectives. Chairing the session is journalist and drug advocate Jenny Valentish, so prepare to have your horizons widened.
Translated from Italian, Primavera means 'spring'. It makes sense then, that the opening of the MCA's Primavera 2013: Young Australian Artists exhibition traditionally coincides with the commencement of spring: the season of regeneration, growth and beer in the afternoon. It also makes sense that this is an exhibition featuring artists in the 'spring' of their careers — eight Australian artists under 35, on the cusp of becoming majorly recognised. Now in its 22nd year, Primavera 2013 is curated by Robert Cook (Curator of Modern and Contemporary Photography and Design at the Art Gallery of Western Australia) and presents a mixed bag. Cook approached his task fluidly, choosing artists he admires and works that specifically respond to the MCA's Level 1 North Gallery space. The works are diverse, ranging from photography to video, sculpture, painting and performance. Some, such as Thomas Jeppe’s Vista Verticals (2013) are intended as "purpose-built gallery interventions", others are more traditional bodies of work. But questions you might expect to find answers to in such a setting, like 'What are young Australian artists doing, and doing well?' 'What are they affected and influenced by on a broader socio-cultural level?' 'What new mediums and visual languages are being explored, challenged and invigorated?' 'What are their politics?' are left largely unarticulated. Despite initial misgivings at the lack of curatorial cohesion, there's a lot of punch packed into this show. Standout works include Melbourne-based artist Jess Johnson's trippy geometric posters, reminiscent of science-fiction comic book iconography. The exhibited body of work, titled Of course, things go bad (2013), is technically proficient and visually mesmerising, presenting a portal into a disquieting Gregorian-period inspired world. She presents what can be interpreted as visions of an outdated future imagined from a distant past; flat, symmetrical shrines that make you feel like you’re standing on a threshold between reality and fantasy. There's also Jackson Eaton’s beautifully reflective photographic series Better Half (2007-13), both conceptually and visually affecting. By taking duplicate photos of himself and his partner and then his father and his step-mother in near-identical scenes, Easton tells a unique personal story through a lens that lends itself to a broader questioning of identity and the uniqueness of one’s experiences. And Heath Franco. WTF. This guy is a 'crazed fucker'! Or at least he is in this trilogy of high-impact video works. TELEVISIONS (2013), YOUR DOOR (2011) and DREAM HOME (2012) feel on the surface like a mishmash of mumbo-jumbo psycho-babble. But on closer inspection, the explicitly kitsch visual language, with Franco at the centre, reveals itself as a powerful portrait of repressed identity. Putting his subconscious and everything that goes with it — the confronting, the bizarre, the nonsensical — out into the open, not only does Franco present a subversive comment on his own somewhat twisted insides but it feels intrinsically Australian on a disturbingly resonant level. Kusum Normoyle, meanwhile, presents a series of video performance interventions, mounted to the walls and scattered throughout the gallery. What she is doing, is screaming in public. Her opening night performance, screaming through a horrifically loud, distorted PA in the foyer of the MCA in front of a crowd of well-dressed elderly art appreciators was priceless. The videos are also great. Image: Jackson Eaton, Untitled (Public Art A) from the series Better Half (2008). Image courtesy and © the artist.
