A couple of years ago, Dutch designer Marjan van Aubel posited that every object could be turned into a solar cell. No more dirty coal burning, no more tangled cables, no more electricity bills. Sure, it might sound utopian, but if that sun up there’s been keeping more than 400,000 plant species going for millions of years, then there’s surely no reason it can’t handle whatever the Apple factory can throw at it. Van Aubel started her mission with the creation of a drinking glass that could power a mobile phone. Now, she’s come up with The Current Table — a solar desk that functions as both workspace and electronic gadget charger. The top is made of glass, which has been dyed orange and embedded with tiny particles of titanium dioxide. When sunlight hits, the titanium dioxide releases electrons, creating an electrical current. The process is similar to photosynthesis (plants’ transformation of chlorophyll into energy). What’s particularly impressive about it is that, unlike regular external solar panels, which only respond to direct sun rays, the desk works indoors, because it responds to diffused light. The current is accessible via two built-in USB chargers and any unused electricity is stored in a battery. A light display keeps track of how much power is available. "One cell needs about eight hours to fully charge a battery, and there are four cells for each USB port," Van Aubel explains. "The amount of sunlight the earth receives in one day could power all our electrical appliances for an entire year. The question is how to capture and store it, and how to transport it to where and where it is needed." The Current Table will go on display in Milan in April, as part of the Salone Internazionale del Mobile. Via PSFK.
If all the edgy theatre and dance shows are making your head spin a little, give your brain a break with a few hours at the Village Sideshow. This freaky fun park at the Meriton Festival Village is packed with a variety of wild and wonderful experiences that will make your festival experience even more magical. Delights include dancing to your favourite song in a transparent, glitter-filled cube, swimming in a shipping container pool, and even getting up on stage with the Sydney Dance Company in their ground-breaking virtual reality film Stuck in the Middle With You. Open 4.30pm until late, closed Mondays. Images: Prudence Upton and Jamie Williams.
You might not know that noted film banger of the 00s Bring It On has been made into a stage musical — and, having already done the rounds on Broadway in 2012, it's going to cartwheel into Melbourne in June this year. Responsible for the phrase "cheerocracy" and your unrealistic expectations of high school, it seems the original movie still has some decent cultural capital to give. If you've been wondering, in the last 18 years, what exactly the world of competitive cheerleading might have going on with it these days, this musical is for you. If you had a Kirsten Dunst poster on the back of your childhood bedroom door, this musical is for you. To be honest, if you've watched the film even just a few times, it's probably for you too. With music and lyrics by Tony Award-winning composer Lin-Manuel Miranda (of Hamilton fame) and the stage adaptation by Jeff Whitty (Avenue Q), the musical is only loosely based on the original film of 2000, which starred your girls Kirsten and Eliza Dushku. Unlike the five sequels that followed the movie — all of which went directly to VHS — the musical looks like it has a refreshing amount of sass, cutthroat rivalry and aerial stunts. Bust out your best spirit fingers and get them tapping on your keyboard if you want tickets — Bring It On: The Musical is making its way to Melbourne's Athenaeum Theatre in June, but it's only going to be step-pivot-split jumping around town for a strictly limited run of ten shows. And keep them fingers crossed the show decides to make its way around the country. Bring It On: The Musical will run from June 7–16, 2018 at the Athenaeum Theatre, 188 Collins Street, Melbourne. Tickets are on sale now via Ticketek.
Marvel's first Muslim superhero is coming to your streaming queue, but she'll have to conquer high school along the way. Come Wednesday, June 8, the ever-sprawling and always-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe will add its seventh new TV series in 18 months to streaming platform Disney+, and it's all about Pakistani American teenager Kamala Khan — better known to comic-book readers since 2013 as Ms Marvel. Arriving three years after Captain Marvel, the series that shares Ms Marvel's name focuses on a Carol Danvers superfan — who happens to discover that she has superpowers, too. Kamala (debutant Iman Vellani) doesn't feel like she fits in her hometown of Jersey City, and often escapes into gaming, writing fan fiction and her extremely active imagination; however, everything changes when she learns that she has more in common with her idol than she ever realised. As Ms Marvel's just-dropped first trailer shows, viewers can expect teen dreams and high-school hijinks aplenty — but with a superhero twist. How Kamala will handle living out her fantasy life will fuel the show's six-episode first season, in the leadup to 2023 big-screen release The Marvels, which'll feature Brie Larson as Carol, Vellani as Kamala, and also WandaVision's Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau. Yes, while the MCU's slate of Disney+ series is taking a different approach in 2022 — focusing on bringing characters previously unseen on-screen into the fold, rather than giving existing franchise players their own shows (see: WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki and Hawkeye) — it's still linking in with the bigger Marvel Cinematic Universe picture. Ms Marvel also gives the MCU a first — that aforementioned first Muslim superhero — after a decade and a half of hardly presenting diversity on-screen. Across the 28 films that will have hit cinemas before Ms Marvel drops, it took the MCU 18 movies to solely focus on a Black superhero, and 21 features across 11 years to do the same with a female superhero. It also didn't hand the directorial reins to a solo female filmmaker until its 24th movie, either —and, when Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Eternals both released in 2021, they visibly and welcomely stood out from the bulk of the franchise in terms of representation. As well as newcomer Vellani, Ms Marvel's cast includes Aramis Knight (Into the Badlands), Saagar Shaikh (Unfair & Ugly), Rish Shah (India Sweets and Spices), Zenobia Shroff (The Affair), Mohan Kapur (Bullets), Matt Lintz (The Walking Dead), Yasmeen Fletcher (Let Us In) and Laith Nakli (Ramy). And, it'll hit your streaming queue following the MCU's other announced show for 2022 so far — the Oscar Isaac-starring Moon Knight, which arrives on Wednesday, March 30. Check out the trailer for Ms Marvel below: Ms Marvel will start streaming via Disney+ on Wednesday, June 8. Images: ©Marvel Studios 2022. All Rights Reserved.
Just a couple of months ago, spending a few hours in a cinema soaking in a dose of movie magic — and eating plenty of popcorn and choc tops — was a normal everyday activity. Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, mass gatherings were banned and picture palaces closed, however, seeing a film on the big screen in a darkened room filled with other people has become a relic of the past. But with Australia slowly starting to relax coronavirus restrictions, that might only remain the case until mid-July. The National Association of Cinema Operators-Australasia — a nationwide organisation comprised of Australia's major national cinemas, as well as independent movie theatres — has announced that the country's big screens are aiming to open in time for the planned release of Christopher Nolan's Tenet, which is currently slated for Thursday, July 16. As reported by Variety, the NACO board said it "is enthusiastic about the prospect of reopening and is hopeful of conditions enabling it to do so in July". Some Australian states, such as Queensland and New South Wales, have already eased some stay-at-home requirements. More developments in this space are expected in the coming days and weeks — with some social distancing and public gathering rules likely to be limited this coming Friday, May 8, when the national cabinet next meets; Australia-wide principles regarding sport and outdoor recreation already proposed; and Queensland working towards a June reopening date for bars, cafes and restaurants. So, with that timeline in mind, letting folks back into cinemas by mid-July seems perfectly reasonable. There are two major caveats, though. The federal and state governments obviously need to allow cinemas to reopen, after requiring them to close back in March. And, cinemas need access to new movies to screen for audiences — which doesn't just depend on the coronavirus situation in Australia. Over the past few months, a huge number of big-name flicks have postponed their releases, setting new dates for later this year and even next year. This started happening even before COVID-19 cases ramped up outside of China and Italy, because when a new movie hits the silver screen, it's usually a global event. So, the likes of A Quiet Place Part II, No Time to Die, Fast and Furious 9, Wonder Woman 1984, In the Heights, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Candyman and more all pushed back their release dates. Tenet wasn't one of them — in fact, it's one of the only movies that didn't move its original release date — but that could still happen, especially if American cinemas aren't ready to open by mid-July. Without a big movie like Tenet to screen — or Mulan, which moved its release date to Thursday, July 23, so the following week — it's possible that Aussie picture palaces will delay their plans, even if they've been given the go-ahead by the government to start their projectors again. And opening a huge blockbuster like the aforementioned movies in Australia weeks before they open in America just isn't going to happen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdOM0x0XDMo Either way, when Aussie cinemas do reopen, going to the movies won't be quite the same as everyone remembers. "The Board is very mindful of social distancing restrictions needing to be put in place and acknowledges that the impact this will have on trading due to these reduced capacities," NACO said in its statement. That also likely means bigger gaps between session times to avoid crowds milling about in the foyer, only partly filling theatres to ensure social distancing requirements can be met, making hand sanitiser available everywhere, cleaning cinemas more regularly, and preferring contactless and cashless transactions. For Queenslanders, these are some of the new strategies already being put in place at Yatala Drive-In — which first reopened over the weekend of May 2–4, playing movies that were screening in cinemas when they closed. The move was a success, so it'll be doing so again between May 7–10 and May 14–17. Via Variety.
There's a particular texture to Los Angeles after dark that suits stories of crime and self-interest to a tee. A desolate urban badland of freeways and fast food joints, there's this eeriness; this unnaturalness; this inescapable sense of menace; that seems to creep out of the concrete and set your nerves on edge. You can feel it in Michael Mann's Heat, or in Collateral a decade later. You can feel it in sections of Nicholas Winding Refn's Drive. And you can feel it in Nightcrawler, from writer-director Dan Gilroy, as it glides out of the darkness and seizes you by the throat. Always at his best when playing characters gripped by obsession — Jack Twist in Brokeback Mountain, Robert Graysmith in Zodiac, or Detective David Loki in last year's masterful Prisoners — Jake Gyllenhaal is in career-best form as Lou Bloom, Gilroy's unsettled protagonist, and our tour guide through the sordid LA underbelly. Inspired after witnessing a car accident, Lou decides to carve out a career as a 'nightcrawler', videotaping crime scenes and selling them to a local TV station for broadcast on the 6am news. Read our full review here. Nightcrawler is in cinemas November 27. Thanks to Madman Entertainment, we have ten double passes to give away in each city. 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
A near-silent depiction of a nightmare boarding school for girls, a stage adaptation of a 1950s pornographic novel, a drag odyssey through Australian history — this is hardly the usual fare for the MTC crowd. Yet it's all on the program at NEON, the Melbourne Theatre Company's festival of independent theatre. It's packed with the kind of edgy theatre-making you'd more expect to find in shoebox venues around Fringe season, rather than in a mainstream house like Southbank Theatre. It is, says artistic director Brett Sheehy, one of the company's most significant initiatives to date. "With NEON, we celebrate Melbourne's unique and thriving independent theatre landscape and its astonishing artists," Sheehy says. "Part of our mission is to literally throw open our doors to all of Melbourne and to make Southbank Theatre a place of connection, accessibility and welcome, no matter what form of theatre Melbourne desires." For the festival, which runs from May to July, 2013, Sheehy approached five of Melbourne's most innovative little theatre companies — The Hayloft Project, THE RABBLE, Daniel Schlusser Ensemble, Fraught Outfit and Sisters Grimm — and offered them free access to MTC's stage and technical resources, as well as free creative rein. Benedict Hardie of The Hayloft Project, whose By Their Own Hands looks to be a confronting and stripped-back take on Greek tragedy, says that while creative freedom comes with the territory of independent theatre, practitioners need to work hard for that freedom and it is rare to get the kind of support MTC has offered. Having that support, Hardie says, has enabled the artists involved to push themselves further creatively. "It's an opportunity to dream a bit bigger," he says. The shows on the lineup promise to be confronting, intense, bizarre or even — as with THE RABBLE's adaptation of Story of O, a French novel that was the 50 Shades of Grey of its day — erotic. THE RABBLE's co-artistic director Emma Valente sees the festival as a turning point for the companies involved, not just because of the resources and the greater audience potential provided by MTC but because of what the very existence of the festival says about changing attitudes toward the independent theatre scene. "What it means for independent theatre at large is exciting," says Valente. "In fifteen years doing independent theatre, playing in a mainstream house is something I never would have thought possible." The festival opened on May 16 with Menagerie, Daniel Schlusser's homage to Tennessee Williams and will also feature a program of forums and free workshops featuring a topnotch lineup of playwrights, producers, performers and critics. So whether you are an audience member avid for the avant garde or an underrated artist working on a society-shaking script of your own, Southbank Theatre is, perhaps surprisingly, about to become the place to be. To see the full program of events, head to the MTC website. Tickets to each show are $25, or you can see all five for $100. Top image: The Hayloft Project by Patrick Boland. Second image: Daniel Schlusser Ensemble by Sarah Walker.
There's something incredibly captivating about sharks. They're the subject of plenty of thrilling Hollywood blockbusters, the source of much debate and fear, and are undeniably majestic as they cut through the ocean. But, it's not often you have the chance to get up close and personal with the apex predators of the sea. Sea Life Sydney, however, is letting you do just that at its Evening of Shark Discovery — from a safe spot behind the glass, of course. On Wednesday, February 26, head to the aquarium after hours where you'll hear from three shark and wildlife experts, before witnessing an action-packed nocturnal feed of the green sea turtles, black and white tip reef sharks and sawfish at the Day and Night on the Reef exhibition. Explore the aquarium without the crowds from 6pm, before talks from zoologist and lead scientist of Sharks and Rays Australia (SARA) Barbara Wueringer, Emmy-nominated underwater cinematographer Jon Shaw and conservation biologist and behavioural ecologist Adam Stow. The three will be discussing Australians' attitudes towards sharks and how important the animals are to the future of our oceans. Tickets are $65 and include an alcoholic beverage and a $10 donation to Sea Life Trust and SARA. An Evening of Shark Discovery runs from 6–8.30pm.
Every Italian will tell you that no one cooks like their nonna — and to prove that claim true, Sydney's best Italian chefs and their grandmothers are teaming up for a brand new two-week festival of Italian deliciousness. Running from November 17–27, the Festival of Nonna will be a celebration of the traditional matriarchs of the Boot, with a whole fortnight filled with dinners, drinks and workshops at Redfern's 107 Projects. Preented by Sandhurst Fine Foods, it will show off the modern interpretation of Italian food coupled with the tried-and-tested traditions that make the cuisine so damn good. Sydney chef and restaurateur Andrew Cibej (of 121BC, Berta and Vini fame) will be teaming up with his mum to host a pop-up trattoria on the rooftop of 107 Projects. Together they'll host eight meals over the two weeks, where they'll showcase Andrew's skills that have fed hungry Sydneysiders for years, and pay homage to the humble roots of his craft. "Nonna taught me everything I know about the importance of fresh and simple ingredients," Cibej says."But I always show her a thing or two about throwing new flavours or techniques into the mix." For those keen to cook like nonna does, chefs — including two Luca Ciano of Milan's two Michelin-starred Il Luogo di Aimo e Nadia, Massimo Mele of the Woollahra's now-closed La Scala on Jersey, and MasterChef's Sara Oteri — will have their own grandmothers in tow to deliver hands-on demonstrations that show off the tradition and the techniques of crafting the perfect Italian meal. Tickets for the workshops are $30 a pop, while tickets for the pop-up dinners are $50 and include five courses with paired wines and a sweet party bag. Many of them are already booked out — so hop to it. The Festival of Nonna will run from November 17-27 at 107 Projects, 107 Redfern Street, Redfern. For more info, visit festivalofnonna.com.
As we take our seats for the Sydney Theatre Company's enticingly reversed Macbeth — where the audience sits on stage and the actors perform in the stalls and dress circle usually filled by the audience — the anticipation is through the roof. We buzz about being part of one of the year's bold theatrical experiments, even while squeezing ourselves into a seating bank sized for primary schoolers. And then the play starts. The air goes out of this Macbeth quite quickly, though it's sure to have its fans who can do with pure, minimal, academic Shakespeare. The first 45 minutes take place at what looks like the script reading table, with actors in everyday, 'civilian' attire. A few cleverly used props and costume elements configure them into different scenes: the witches gurgle into shape after Robert Menzies, Kate Box and Ivan Donato dunk their heads in water; with poncho to catch the spewing gore, a wounded captain (Melita Jurisic) brings news from the front and praise for Macbeth (Hugo Weaving) to King Duncan (John Gaden). This in itself is fine, but without characterisation through costume or speech, it makes for a very disengaging start, even for those familiar with the plot. Everyone's iambs gush out like waterfalls, and tonal variation is slight. The feeling throughout is that everything is rushed, with the only discernible reason being to get us out of this makeshift seating before we develop back issues. Speed does not guarantee pace. Of course, when Weaving speaks, it strikes awe. His voice is like a mountain rumbling to life to let the villagers know it is in fact a volcano and they should run for their lives. Shakespeare's words are clear and sonorous coming from him; however, it's hard to see more in this Macbeth and Lady Macbeth (Jurisic) than broad archetypes of people seduced and spoiled by power. It's strange because in the last piece of Shakespeare presented by director Kip Williams, Romeo and Juliet, character was the strongest suit. Why he would deny us the luxury of characterisation now is not clear, and if there is new meaning or a particular take to be found in this Macbeth, it's very hidden. When the action does move beyond the table, Williams and his team of design heavyweights (Alice Babidge on set, Nick Schlieper on lights and Max Lyandvert on sound) create a few memorable sights. A chase to the death over the staggered seats is thrilling, and the visitation by Banquo's ghost over dinner is beautiful and dripping with tension. There is the most spectacular glitter drop — like rain, snow and falling comets all rolled into one. It feels like Williams' ethos with this production is restraint, as though to avoid it being labelled a gimmick. I don't know that it's the right choice. Swapping the seating plan of a proscenium theatre is once-in-a-lifetime stuff, and it would have been excellent to see it realised to every inch of its creative possibility. Naturally, given the proposition and the casting, this show is sold out, with your only chance now being to ring up on Tuesday mornings in the hopes of getting the few Suncorp Twenties tickets. But it's a shame that a work set to reach such a broad audience is one with stilted imagination and limited appeal.
There is nothing quite like an international design competition to put the world's leading architecture firms into a bit of spin. And that is exactly what has happened since the Busan Metropolitian City Government in Korea sponsored a competition to find a design for Busan's new Opera House, set to begin construction in 2014. The brief was fairly straightforward - the winning design needed to completely reenvisage the Busan Opera House on the harbour of South Korea's second largest city, Busan, and create a new cultural landmark which would resonate with the residents of Busan and the surronding marine culture, yet would also put Busan firmly on the international stage. In practical terms, the brief also stipulated that the design had to include an Opera Theatre, a multi-purpose theatre, and provide areas for people to congregate and enjoy views of the city skyine and the ocean. The competition certainly has fired up the imaginations of architects worldwide The Swiss-based architecturel firm Kubota and Bachmann have put forward a design based on Korean traditions, featuring an impressive artificial body of water, while a German firm, Peter Ruge Architekten, have gained significant attention with their sustainable design. Sydney-based architects Lascoste and Stevenson have also weighed in with their pod-shaped design. The final decision on the design of the Opera House will not be known until the second stage of the competition. But whatever the result, it looks like post 2014 Sydney may not be the only harbour city with an enviable Opera House.
Sydney's been experimenting with all sorts of interesting late-night initiatives to breath fresh energy into the city's night-life. There's talk of late opening shops, museums and bars, as well as actual local residents enjoying themselves and even getting some sleep. The council is still gathering opinions, and while they think, Vivid Sydney — itself a form of late-night nightlife — is having an early turn at sorting out this mix by drawing CBD shops and comestibles into the night-time vibe for their Great Night Out. During Vivid Sydney, the Vivid Rocks Night Markets are opening their stalls Friday and Saturday nights to provide you with music, cheapish food and even some shopping to go with your Vivid light-peeping evening experience. Shops and restaurants across the CBD and the rocks will be offering specials to go with the festival, and after stopping in at some you can see a few extra light sculptures under the QVB dome. All the while 2manydjs will be broadcasting live for triple-J from the Opera House's studios. If creative talk, live music and brain-bending light shows aren't enough for you at Vivid this year, A Great Night Out answers the question of what more you could possibly want.
Earlier this year, when events worldwide started cancelling, postponing and rescheduling due to COVID-19, the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA)'s Dark Mofo was sadly one of many that had to pull the plug. It's also just one of the annual festivals that the venue holds and, thankfully, MONA's summer event will be forging ahead — with the venue announcing dates and locations for Mona Foma 2021. Come January, arts and music fans will be able to soak in the fest's eclectic sights and sounds across two weekends — and in two locations. Although Mona Foma was originally held in Hobart, where MONA is located, the event made the move to Launceston in 2019. In 2021, however, it'll split its program between both Tasmanian cities. Launceston will be up first, from January 15–17, with Hobart getting the nod the next week from January 22–24. Just what'll be on the bill hasn't been announced as yet, and won't be until later this year, but the fact that the festival is happening at all is the kind of great news that 2020 has been lacking. As Mona Foma curator Brian Ritchie explained, "Mona Foma thrives on reinvention and we are compelled to do that big time in January 2021. One weekend in Launceston, and one weekend in Hobart, to spread the love. Great Tasmanian artists, unusual venues, and an irrepressible creativity". Focusing on Tassie artists isn't new for the fest, with 61 percent of creatives involved in the 2020 event hailing from the state. [caption id="attachment_784488" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Robin Fox laser installation at the Albert Hall, Launceston, Mona Foma 2019. Photo Credit: MONA/Jesse Hunniford. Image courtesy of the artist and MONA Museum of Old and New Art, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia[/caption] Of course, before you go making big plans for a weekend getaway down south, you'll want to keep an eye on Tasmania's current border restrictions — which, at the time of writing, requires 14 days in quarantine in government-designated accommodation for non-Tasmanian residents who aren't classified as essential travellers, and additionally requires pre-approval from the Deputy State Controller if you're entering from a location considered high-risk, such as Victoria. Mona Foma will take place from January 15–17, 2021 in Launceston, and from January 22–24, 2021 in Hobart. We'll update you when the full program is announced later this year — but head to the festival website in the interim for further details. Top image: The Flaming Lips, Mona, Hobart, Mona Foma 2016. Photo Credit: MONA/Rémi Chauvin. Image Courtesy Mona, Museum of Old and New Art, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
If the image of a sopping wet Mr Darcy striding through the flowers at Pemberley has never quite left your mind, add Regency Sunday to your calendar posthaste. The Historic Houses Trust is opening the doors of Elizabeth Farm for a day of partying like it's 1815 — complete with climactic pistol duel. Attending in costume is encouraged, and the fun on offer promises to be interactive and immersive enough to make you believe you really have time-travelled: throughout the house and grounds there will be lawn games, period music, dancing and food tastings. If playing make-believe is not your jam, there's also opportunity to learn about the daily life of Regency-era Sydneysiders through hands-on craft workshops, talks and performances. The 73rd Regiment of the Foot will present the dramatic climax, a re-enactment of the notorious real-life duel between John Macarthur (the "father of the wool industry", for whom the house was built in 1793) and his own commanding officer William Paterson. Regency Sunday is the first of a series of 'Vintage Sundays' at Sydney's heritage properties. Stay tuned throughout 2013 for events that will celebrate the daily life of the Gothic, Victorian and later periods.
In between running one of Brisbane's favourite vintage cafe bars and teaching us where the best bits of Brisbane are, longtime Aussie music go-to The Grates are back for their first national headline tour since 2011. Brisbanites Patience Hodgson, John Patterson and Ritchie Daniell will be taking their Team Work Makes The Dream Work tour down Australia's east coast with Sydney punk garage band Straight Arrows and Brisbane punk/synth duo Pleasure Symbols. Described as "fun and thrashy pop punk at its best" by triple j, these three have a reputation for giving an incredible live show that'll have you on your feet. The Grates have been seriously productive over the last few months; after releasing their fourth celebrated studio album, Dream Team last year, they went on to absolutely crush it at Splendour In The Grass. The Grates' long-awaited return to the stage is sure to be one of those dance-till-you-drop affairs — here's hoping for a furious '19-20-20' throwback singalong to obliterate our vocal chords once and for all. THE GRATES 'TEAM WORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK' 2015 TOUR: Saturday, August 8 – The Triffid, Brisbane Friday, August 14 – Oxford Art Factory, Sydney Saturday, August 15 – The Corner Hotel, Melbourne The Grates are touring Australia's east coast this August, and thanks to Secret Service, we have three double passes to give away to their Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne shows. To be in the running, subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter and 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
Calling all history buffs: now is an excellent time to plan a long weekend in Canberra, with an incredible exhibition celebrating the might of the Roman Empire arriving at the National Museum of Australia (NMA) on Friday, September 21. Rome: City and Empire is a collaborative exhibition with the British Museum and makes the NMA only the second institution to host it worldwide — and the only museum that will do so in Australia. The exhibition showcases over 200 jaw-dropping objects, including marble sculptures, illustrations, geometric jewellery, gold medallions and burial chests — many of which have never toured internationally, let alone reached the Southern Hemisphere. This is once-in-a-lifetime stuff. Whether you're a history aficionado who smashes all the ancient Rome questions at trivia or a total novice, the exhibition offers an opportunity to step back in time to experience what daily life was like in one of the most sophisticated, culturally diverse and creative civilisations the world has ever known. You'll leave with an insight into just how Rome became such a mighty empire — one whose aesthetics, ingenuity and approach to design continue to influence us today. Rome: City and Empire will run from Friday, September 21, 2018 to Sunday, February 3, 2019. Tickets can be purchased via the NMA's website. Images: Fragment of a diadem, Naukratis, Egypt, 67–98 CE, gold; Roman Republican coin for Julius Caesar minted in Rome, Italy, 44 BCE, silver; Mosaic panel, Halicarnassus (modern Bodrum), Turkey, 4th century CE ©Trustees of the British Museum
Catering to our fierce love of seafood over the holiday period, Sydney Fish Market is once again pulling its annual all-nighter so that you can get your hands on the freshest ocean treats for Christmas lunch. Each year, the Fish Market — which will soon be relocated to a $250 million new site — capably serves over 100,000 buyers looking to snag a deal. Between 5am on Friday, December 23–5pm on Saturday, December 24 in 2022, the market is yours to scout out the most sumptuous fish, king prawns, oysters and calamari for 36 hours. It's not only fish here, though. You can also peruse cold meats and cheeses at the deli for a grand charcuterie platter, or stop by the onsite bakery and greengrocer. Or, if you're more of a northern hemisphere traditionalist, you can even pick up a turkey from the butcher. [caption id="attachment_878750" align="alignnone" width="1920"] James D. Morgan/Getty Images for Sydney Fish Market[/caption] You'll find basically everything here. If you're stuck for gifts, there are plenty of opportunities for that last-minute buy. Head to the gift shop, florist or bottle shop. "The marathon is a signature event on the Sydney Fish Market calendar, celebrating Australia's collective love of seafood and the outstanding local produce we are fortunate to enjoy, thanks to our hardworking fishers," Sydney Fish Market CEO Greg Dyer says. "We look forward to continuing this wonderful tradition as we get closer to the opening of our spectacular new market building in just a few short years."
Not to alarm you, but you might have noticed that it has been hot recently. If you're suddenly finding yourself aware of a lack of summer-friendly clothes in your wardrobe, ready-to-wear label Tigerlily is offering something very relevant to your interests: a big six-day clothing sale to get you some much-welcome bargains. There's never a bad time to treat yourself to some new clothes, especially when you're saving money in the process. The Aussie brand is known and loved for its timeless prints and unique patterns, so getting your mitts on some of the goods for less is a major win. From Wednesday, November 27 until midnight on Monday, December 2, you'll be able to get brand new threads — including dresses, shorts and kaftans — with a cheeky 30 percent discount to help you survive the summer months both in store and online. Plus, if you're shopping online, you'll find sale items at up to 80 percent off. Tigerlily's Black Friday Sale runs from Wednesday, November 27–Monday, December 2 both in store and online. If you want to hit up the sale IRL, you can find your closest store here. To check out what's up for grabs online, head here.
If mythical creatures, unsolved murders and unease in the Victorian era all sound like your idea of great television, then Amazon Prime Video's new fantasy series might be just up your alley — or row. Starring Cara Delevingne as a faerie and Orlando Bloom has a brooding detective, Carnival Row boasts all of the above, as well as a heavy gothic-meets-steampunk vibe. Story-wise, the drama unpacks the fallout of a turf war, after humanity encroaches upon the homelands of mythological beings. In the aftermath, the latter — including Delevingne's Vignette Stonemoss — attempt to co-exist with non-magical folk. It doesn't go smoothly, with a series of killings under investigation by Bloom's Rycroft Philostrate understandably making matters worse. Releasing on Friday, August 30, Carnival Row appears to follow in the footsteps of plenty of previous tales that've used fantasy, sci-fi and superheroes to explore intolerance, immigration, discrimination and refugees. The twist comes from the period setting and neo-noir atmosphere — so think X-Men meets Penny Dreadful. Created by René Echevarria (The 4400, Teen Wolf) and Travis Beacham (Clash of the Titans, Pacific Rim), Carnival Row is based on the latter's script. Amazon is already confident about the show, renewing it for a second season before the first has even released according to Variety. Check out the trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=369LHB9N-Ro Carnival Row hits Amazon Prime Video on Friday, August 30.
Last week, Sydney's hospitality businesses were allowed to reopen for dine-in customers for the first time in two months — for just ten customers. From June 1, that number will jump to 50. Today, Friday, May 22, Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced that Sydney's restaurants, cafes, pubs and clubs would be allowed to have up to 50 dine-in customers from the first of next month, but there would be some "very strict guidelines" around this. As well as adhering to the one person per four-square-metres rule, hospitality businesses will not be allowed to take bookings of more than ten people, no customers will be allowed to stand up and all service must happen at the table (ie — no ordering at the bar). The Premier also said that "things will be very different". "Imagine even something as simple as having joint cutlery on a table won't be able to exist anymore. A simple buffet won't exist anymore," she said. NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard also confirmed that all diners will need to register their details when eating out. "When you ring up a restaurant, you'd normally give your name and phone number anyway to make the booking," Hazzard said. "In this case, it would more likely be, though — and we're working through this with industry — that each person who goes in would also give their name and phone number. That would certainly help keep all of us safe." [caption id="attachment_729159" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Old Fitzroy by Tanya Saint James[/caption] While the Premier didn't mention small bars, distilleries and breweries in the announcement today, they are also currently allowed to open as long as liquor is served "with, or ancillary to, food in an area for eating" per the NSW Government legislation. Food and drink venues having 50 customers is just one of three relaxed restrictions that'll be introduced in NSW on June 1, with the Premier previously announcing that regional travel — including overnight stays — within the state will be allowed from the first of next month, and that cultural institutions, including art galleries, museums and libraries, will be allowed to open with restrictions. For more information about the status of COVID-19 in NSW, head to the NSW Health website. Top image: Chica Bonita by Kitti Gould
Fatima Fazal, founder of iHeart, has created the Heart Part, a clever contraption which can be used as a knife, fork and scoop. Heart Parts are 100% biodegradable and are made of 88% less plastic than regular utensils. Furthermore, when they're joined together they form a lovely heart shape that will bring a little happiness into your day. Sitting at $8.95 for a box of ten, these are conveniently small, environmentally friendly and easy on the wallet too. I doubt these will get you through a 500 gram rump steak, but they'll be a handy addition for light snacks and party foods. Grab one of these at the iHeart store and do your part to save the world. Watch the video below for a comprehensive rundown on how these work. https://youtube.com/watch?v=jAIVjmQKn0g [via PSFK]
Enter the words 'true crime' or 'serial killer' into Netflix and something thoroughly unsurprising results: a hefty list of shows and movies to watch, dramas and documentaries alike, because the streaming platform sure does love this niche. In the future, those searches will throw up two more results, with 2022 newcomer Monster set to return for another couple of seasons. Monster's debut run came with the unwieldy full title DAHMER — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. While exactly what season two and three will be called hasn't yet been revealed, they will need to switch that moniker up. For the show's return, it'll turn into an anthology series, creating "two more instalments that will focus on other monstrous figures who have impacted society", the service announced on social media. Following the record-breaking success of DAHMER - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, Ryan Murphy & Ian Brennan will create two more installments that will focus on other monstrous figures who have impacted society. A second season of The Watcher has also been greenlit! pic.twitter.com/NmFdj6soJj — Netflix (@netflix) November 7, 2022 Who'll those monstrous figures will be also hasn't yet been unveiled, but Netflix is expanding its true-crime remit either way — and creator and prolific TV producer Ryan Murphy is adding another anthology series to his resume after American Horror Story and American Crime Story. In its ten-part first season, which dropped in September, Monster starred WandaVision, Mare of Easttown and American Horror Story actor Evan Peters as the titular IRL murderer. Dahmer's story is particularly gruesome, as the series conveyed; between 1978–1991, he murdered and dismembered 17 boys and men — and there's more to his crimes, including cannibalism. Yes, getting well-known faces to play horrific killers is also part of Netflix's true-crime trend so far — which, if you watched Zac Efron play Ted Bundy in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile a few years back, you'll already know. Netflix might've stopped adding new Mindhunter episodes to our streaming queues, sadly, but the platform has served up everything from The Serpent and the Conversations with a Killer series to The Stranger and The Good Nurse since. Also included: fellow recent series The Watcher, also produced by Murphy, which is now getting a second season as well. Check out the trailer for DAHMER — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story below: DAHMER — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is available to stream via Netflix. We'll update you with release date's for Monster's second and third seasons when they're announced.
The Melbourne International Film Festival has been showcasing the best that cinema has to offer for seven decades now, but it has never hosted a fest like its upcoming 2021 event. Given that every year's festival heralds a fresh lineup filled with new big-screen gems, that's always true in a fashion; however, this is the first time that MIFF is going both physical and digital in a significant way. MIFF's just-announced full 2021 program boasts plenty of must-see movies, including opening night's previously revealed Australian standout The Drover's Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson; Adam Driver-starring musical Annette, which screens straight from opening this year's Cannes Film Festival; and a festival-record 40 world premieres in total. It also offers multiple ways for audiences to watch its selection, including folks who aren't or can't make the trip to Melbourne. Accordingly, between Thursday, August 5–Sunday, August 22, Melburnians can head to a range of local cinemas — and from Saturday, August 14–Sunday, August 22, cinephiles all around the country can watch from home, too. Neither group will be short on options, although the in-person lineup is considerably bigger than the program of flicks that'll be available to watch on the festival's new online viewing platform, MIFF Play. In total, this year's fest spans 283 titles, including 199 features, 84 shorts and 10 virtual reality experiences, with 62 of those also available to watch digitally. MIFF's 2021 closing night pick is one of the films that movie buffs can choose to view in either setting. Directed by and starring Natalie Morales (The Little Things), and completely filmed via Zoom in 2020, Language Lessons is a platonic rom-com about a Spanish teacher (Morales) and her new student (Mark Duplass, Bombshell). It's also one of the big-name titles on the full lineup this year, alongside Memoria, which features Tilda Swinton in Cemetery of Splendour filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul's English-language debut; Bergman Island, the Tim Roth and Mia Wasikowska-starring latest title from Mia Hansen-Løve (Things to Come); No Sudden Move, Steven Soderbergh's crime flick with Don Cheadle, Benicio Del Toro and Jon Hamm; and Pig, which sees Nicolas Cage play a truffle hunter (yes, really). Also on the newly revealed complete bill: centrepiece gala selection Summer of Soul (...or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), which is directed Questlove and looks back on the Harlem Cultural Festival of 1969; Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain, a documentary charting the late presenter and chef's life; and River, the latest musing on the planet we all call home by Sherpa director Jennifer Peedom. There's also Cow, which sees American Honey director Andrea Arnold explore the existence of a dairy cow; Street Gang: How We Hot to Sesame Street, about the beloved children's television staple; and Year of the Everlasting Storm, in which the aforementioned Weerasethakul is joined by six other filmmakers on an anthology about life under lockdown and the power of cinema. Festival attendees can similarly check out There Is No Evil, the searing 2020 Berlinale Golden Bear-winner which screens as part of a showcase of new Iranian cinemas; collaborative doco Those Left Waiting, which has been filmed by refugees around the world; music mockumentary The Nowhere Inn, starring Carrie Brownstein (Sleater-Kinney) and Annie Clark (St Vincent); In the Earth, the new film from Free Fire and High-Rise's Ben Wheatley, which steps into a world ravaged by a virus; and blistering thriller New Order, which delves into power and oppression in Mexico City. From the Australian contingent, Fist of Fury Noongar Daa dubs the Bruce Lee-starring Fist of Fury in an Aboriginal Australian language, and becomes the first feature to ever do so — while The Kids looks back on the seminal 90s film Kids, competitive swimming drama Streamline is based on Ian Thorpe's experiences, and Friends & Strangers is an Aussie slacker satire. On the must-see list, these newly revealed titles join the likes of Australian drama Nitram, about the lead up to the events in Port Arthur a quarter-century ago; Petit Mamam, the new film from Portrait of a Lady on Fire's Céline Sciamma; and tweet-to-screen comedy Zola — all of which were announced last month in the fest's first batch of titles. MIFF's physical venues for 2021 include Comedy Theatre, the Forum, RMIT Capitol Theatre, ACMI, Kino Cinemas, Hoyts Melbourne Central, Coburg Drive-In, The Astor, Palace Cinemas Pentridge, The Sun Theatre and Lido Cinemas — and, if you're wondering about the big move into digital as well, that follows 2020's online-only fest, which became MIFF's largest festival ever, audience-wise. The 2021 Melbourne International Film Festival runs from Thursday, August 5–Sunday, August 22 at a variety of venues around Melbourne. For further details, visit the MIFF website.
Do you ever sit at work, staring out the window and wish that something would come to take you away from all this drudgery? Well, you may need a new job. But in the meantime, you can call the The Grounds of Alexandria to come and transport you and your colleagues to a better place — for the duration of your lunch break, at least. The aptly titled Express-O Bus (like when you groggily mispronounce 'espresso' in the morning) is a free shuttle service that will transport you between your office and The Grounds anytime between 10.30am and 3.30pm during the week. No longer will you have to settle for a soggy sandie or spend most of your lunch break walking to The Grounds instead of actually eating there. Instead, you'll be chaperoned in a funky green Kombi van to your guaranteed booking in either The Cafe or The Potting Shed for an Instagrammable lunch feast to make everyone who stayed in the office insanely jealous. The bus can accommodate four to seven people and is currently operating in the suburbs of Rosebery, Mascot and Alexandria, but will expand if the service proves popular. The bus will also pick up groups from private homes in the area if you're interested in dining in, but unfortunately this service doesn't extend to delivering take away coffees and avo on toast. Well, not yet anyway. The Express-O Bus is available from today, June 14. To book a ride, call 0459 GROUNDS. And for more info, visit their website.
UPDATE: JANUARY 7, 20202 — Due to air quality in Sydney following the bushfire crisis, Opening Night has cancelled all its Sydney Festival shows. John Cassavetes' 1977 film about an actress battling through an existential crisis after witnessing the death of a young fan was savaged by critics upon release. However, since Cassavetes' untimely death in 1989, Opening Night has been reappraised and is now seen as one of the highlights of his career. French director Cyril Teste, who specialises in adapting films for the stage, brings his radical staging of the cult movie to Sydney Opera House in an Australian exclusive, following glowing reviews of its New York run. Two-time Oscar nominee Isabelle Adjani plays the protagonist; her portrayal of a woman haunted was dubbed "tantalising" by The New York Times. The production is in French language with English surtitles, and it runs in the final week of Sydney Festival. Image: Simon Gosselin.
The University of Sydney is transforming bars and pubs into classrooms on one night for a second year – 20 of them, to be exact, which means there are at least 20 new things for you to discuss and learn about. Raising The Bar will see academics deliver free talks around the city, bringing the concept that "good ideas are born at the bar" to life. Previously established a few years back by students from New York and Columbia Universities, this year's event will showcase a range of speakers, ideas, and themes. Pick one that'll interest you, teach you something new, or get you animated, standing and gesturing dramatically with your beer glass. Try Lian Loke at Cake Wines, reflecting on a positive view of technology, and how it can be used to increase your physical activity (can it turn us into elite athletes?). For something even darker, Celine Van Golde will hold "Making a Murderer: The Real Story" at the Bristol Arms, and detail the case of a real wrongful conviction. Or, James Humberstone will head to Venue 505 to talk about how music inspires us — from classical to Kanye, and from funk to Taylor Swift. Raising The Bar will kick off on Tuesday 18th October at various venues, from 6.00pm. It's a free event, but booking is required and recommended so you don't miss out (last year's tickets sold out fast).
Nope, we're not finished with the group exhibitions. Pompom is hosting Contagious Magic, a group show featuring seven artists whose practice revolves around video and photography. Both the show title and the featured works apparently make reference to "the otherness" of Jon Hassell and Brian Eno's 1980 album Fourth World, Vol. W: Possible Musics (ten points if you know what that means). Artists include Vivian Cooper Smith, whose Memory Loss series features rocks his now deceased grandfather collected over decades travelling around WA, exploring themes of time, mortality and memory. There's also Jess Bradford, whose pieces form part of an ongoing project on the Tiger Balm Gardens, a Chinese cultural theme park in Singapore, drawing upon the park's representation of Chinese culture in the form of myths, legends and history. You'll also see work from Simon Del Favero, Charles Dennington, Tina Havelock Stevens, David Greenhalgh and Harley Ives. A diverse, eclectic show that will suit art lovers possessing short attention spans. Image: Jess Bradford, 'Haw Par Villa #4', 2016, courtesy the artist and Galerie pompom.
A terrifying advertisement for the Kimberly Peirce remake of Carrie has gone viral, garnering nearly 10 million views since Monday. The ad shows a young girl in a coffee shop telekinetically tearing the joint apart and scaring the living daylights out of customers. The video comes courtesy of Thinkmodo, an agency that has specialised in viral marketing and prankvertising. This developing form of marketing involves "upping the ante in almost every imaginable way", and this Candid Camera-esque advertisement does exactly that. Actors and stunt people fill a small, faux cafe rigged with all manner of pulleys, gears and ropes. Regular folk then wander in off the street for a coffee or sesame bagel and become unsuspecting extras in a horror film of their own. Like all good viral ads, the actual advertisement is hidden until the very end, and, like all good internet videos, there's a shameful dose of cathartic glee to be had. The Carrie film, starring Chloe Grace Moretz and Julianne Moore, is due in Australian cinemas on November 28. https://youtube.com/watch?v=VlOxlSOr3_M
Thredbo's jam-packed, four-month winter program kicks off with the Winter 2018 Opening Weekend. It'll take place from 9–11 June, which is a long weekend for New South Welshmen (and Welsh-ladies) so there's plenty of time to take advantage of all the activities. There'll be parties galore, with epic music lineups on both Saturday and Sunday nights — featuring tunes from the likes of Young Franco and Hot Dub Time Machine — after-parties, fireworks, ice sculptures and even magic (if that's your thing). For those whose heads aren't too sore, there'll be yoga classes on the riverbank every day at 10am — so you can breathe in the fresh mountain air while aligning your chakras. While these are all very exciting events in their own rights, they're really all sideshows to the main event: the slopes will be open for business. So dust off your thermals and get ready to rip up the slopes (or to spend a lot of time on your behind, if it's your first time). Thredbo is celebrating the winter season's opening weekend by slinging a three-nights-for-two accommodation deal, which you can book here. Practice does make perfect, after all (or, at least, result in more time on your feet). To find out more about Thredbo's exciting winter program, head to thredbo.com.au.
After a run of shows across the country in support of their latest album Today We're The Greatest, Middle Kids are bringing their anthemic tunes to Byron Bay's Beach Hotel. Produced by St Vincent collaborator Lars Stalfors, the album is full of life affirming songs that set the tone for big post-lockdown moments and has landed the band an ARIA nomination for Best Rock Album and international talk-show appearances, Byron Bay fans will be able to catch the trio performing songs from both Today We're the Greatest and their debut album Lost Friends on Saturday, March 25 as part of Great Southern Nights. Brisbane band Melaleuca will also be in attendance, opening the show with heir catchy indie rock tracks. Best of all? Entry is free to the gig, so all you have to do is rock up early to make sure you nab a spot in the venue. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-xPosJqePo Great Southern Nights is facilitating a heap of gigs across Sydney and regional NSW, ranging from icons like Jimmy Barnes in western Sydney or Archie Roach performing in Wagga Wagga, through to smaller acts like hyped young R&B singer Liyah Knight headlining a night of local music and DJs at Zetland's 107 Projects. You can find the full program at the Great Southern Nights website.
As our fear of global warming intensifies, major cities are coming up with all kinds of piecemeal solutions, from solar-powered bridges to train-powered heating systems. But always in our minds nags the persistent question, 'Will it all prove to be too little, too late?' So, a New York-based research group by the name of Terreform has taken matters further. They've envisioned the city as it would be, were every last block — from Manhattan to The Bronx — self-sustaining. In this green paradise, 147th Street would transmogrify into an urban farming block, Amsterdam Avenue would be free of cars and reclaimed rooftops would each provide food enough for 12,000 individuals. There are even plans for meat production towers, where chickens would range freely (sort of) on outdoor terraces. Terreform put six years of research into the project, which they've named 'New York (Steady) State'. If every detail were to be executed, it'd be possible for New York's citizens to meet every one of their needs without stepping (or trading) outside of the city's geographical boundaries. Food, water, waste disposal, air quality, climate regulation, construction, manufacturing and construction would all be taken care of. Sounds an awful lot better than slowly roasting while watching our coastal cities (Manhattan included) drown. Via PSFK.
Just in time for end-of-year drinks, Bondi Beach has brand new pub. And the folks behind it are no strangers — at the helm is Maurice Terzini, king of Icebergs and Surry Hills' Dolphin Hotel, in this latest venture after just launching his own gin. But, unlike his other projects, the Bondi Beach Public Bar (BBPB) doesn't have a dedicated dining room. Instead, the venue is going for a casual, old-school feel, inspired by Aussie pub culture of the 70s and 80s, when rock reigned supreme and the likes of AC/DC and Midnight Oil dominated the charts. As a soundtrack, expect a steady stream of rowdy tunes, reeling from rock and roll to surf rock to proto-punk. The drinks list, taken care of by wine director James Hird, has its origins in the same decades — albeit with some modern polishing. Forget anything remotely post-mixed and keep a look out for Terzini signatures, including the negroni spritz and the No. 8. New creations will include the Harvey Wallbanger and the White Russian, with the latter landing in your hand in a can. As you might've guessed, there's be an Italian bent to the food offerings, with dashes of Australiana. Leading the feast is a flat, crispy Romanesque pizza and a double patty 'squish' burger that's been flattened for ease of eating. Bella's fried chicken — which is an homage to Belles Hot Chicken chef Morgan McGlone — also features, as do gelato and waffle bowls created by Jaclyn Koludrovic, who is responsible for Icebergs' desserts. According to Terzini, the design brief, as implemented by designer George Livissianis, went like this: "I told him to think [American fashion designer] Rick Owens goes to Palm Springs via Bondi". Get ready a raw, punk-influenced interior, featuring loads of concrete. BPPB is now open seven days a week, at 203/180 Campbell Parade, Bondi. For more info visit bbpb.com.au. Images: Kitti Smallbone.
UPDATE, February 13, 2021: Issued late on Friday, February 12, the NSW Government's public health order only requires travellers from Victoria to NSW since 11.59pm on Friday, February 12 to stay at home for the duration of Victoria's lockdown. The government body advised that "the date previously advised has been updated following advice from the NSW Chief Health Officer". As all of Victoria enters a snap five-day lockdown in a bid to contain its latest COVID-19 outbreak, many states are introducing border closures and restrictions of their own. In NSW, the Government is requiring anyone in NSW who has been in Victoria at any time on or after Friday, January 29 to follow the same stay-at-home restrictions as those coming into force in Victoria. That means, any returned travellers will need to follow Victoria's stage four rules between 11.59pm on Friday, February 12 and the same time on Wednesday, February 17. Returned travellers will only be able to leave their homes for those familiar four reasons: shopping for essentials; medical and other care and caregiving; exercise; and essential work. https://twitter.com/NSWHealth/status/1360083780795465730 Travellers arriving from Greater Melbourne by road or from Victoria by air or rail must also complete a traveller self-declaration form before entry into NSW. The NSW Government is also strongly advising against all non-essential travel to Victoria at this time, saying "people who do choose to travel will be required to follow the stay-at-home requirement on their return". For more information about COVID-19 restrictions in NSW, head to the NSW Health website. To learn more about the Victorian stay-at-home orders, head to the Victoria Department of Health website.
Wrapping up high school with the party to end all parties is a rite of passage. Watching movies about the experience has become one as well. Most of their classmates would've pegged Booksmart's Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) and Molly (Beanie Feldstein) for preferring the latter over the former — but, on the night before graduation, after buckling down, studying hard and getting great grades for their entire lives, these two besties are determined to treat themselves to one stereotypically OTT night out before heading off to college. Making her directorial debut, actor-turned-filmmaker Olivia Wilde might have chosen a familiar narrative; however, absolutely nothing about this affectionate and engaging instant-classic teen flick ever feels routine. That includes the genuine rapport between its delightful stars as their characters let loose, and learn plenty about each other and themselves across the course of the wild evening.
A mega new art event has got everyone talking. That much is clear. But if you're out there thinking 'What is it?', 'What can I do there?', 'Does it have food?', 'Does it have Ferris wheels?', 'Is it blue?', 'Does it fit in a station wagon?' and so on, we've got the breakdown for you. And the answer to the ultimate question — 'Should I go?' — appears to be 'yes'. What is Sydney Contemporary? Sydney Contemporary is a biennial art fair in its inaugural year to be held in the newly expanded Carriageworks. Put simply, an art fair is a no-holds-barred, flat-out, art-buying frenzy. Galleries set up in booths under one roof and vie for the attention of collectors. They're like incredibly cool, high-end trade fairs and they're terrific fun. At Sydney Contemporary you'll be able to flit from stand to stand, seeing works from each gallery's stable of artists, chat to the gallerist and check out the incredible lineup of programs, guided tours and workshops on offer. Kelly McDonald, assistant curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art and Sydney Contemporary panelist explains, "Sydney Contemporary affords the opportunity to make the work of Australian artists available en masse within the context of international galleries. It's fantastic that visitors can come and see the broad spectrum of artists working today and hopefully be introduced to the work of artists they may not otherwise have encountered". Who will be there? Sydney Contemporary is shaping up to become one of the more influential art events in Australia. The exhibitor list is impressive, with many of Australia's top commercial galleries participating. Roslyn Oxley9, Olsen Irwin, Anna Schwartz Gallery, Alaska Projects, Firstdraft, Sullivan + Strumpf, Tolarno Galleries, Sophie Gannon Gallery, Art Equity, Michael Reid, and Annandale Galleries will be some of the many highlights of the Fair. There are also a slew of international galleries winging their way Down Under to take part including Sundaram Tagore Gallery (New York, Hong Kong, Singapore), Nature Morte (Berlin, Gurgaon, New Delhi), Everard Read (Cape Town), Paragon (London) and Starkwhite (Auckland). de Sarthe Gallery (Beijing, Hong Kong) will be bringing with them works by Chen Zhen, Jenny Holzer, Gilbert & George, Richard Long and Zhao Jinhe. Who else? Notable gallerists, artists, collectors, curators and everyone in between will be rubbing shoulders at Carriageworks come Thurday, 19 September. A range of talks will be held throughout the weekend with speakers including actor Rachel Griffiths, Sue Cato, Glenn McGrath AM, Akira Isogawa, Lisa Havilah, Bianca Spender, Kylie Kwong, architect Nick Tobias, Sydney Contemporary director Barry Keldoulis and artists Del Kathryn Barton, Nell, Quilty and Island 6. We strongly recommend coughing up the extra dosh for an opening night ticket. In terms of people-watching opportunities, it will be up there with airports and your therapist's waiting room. Can I buy art? If you're thinking of dipping your toe in the art-buying pool, Sydney Contemporary is a good place to start. You can get a really solid overview of what's on offer in a more informal setting than the traditional gallery back room. Prices will vary dramatically from gallery to gallery, but at the lowest end you probably won't walk out with much change from $1000 for a work. If you're a seasoned collector, you'll be au fait with the ins and outs of purchasing works, but if you're new to collecting, use the fair as an opportunity to suss out which galleries are showing art you like at a price range within your budget. Art fairs are designed to encourage impulse buying, but you shouldn't panic and feel you need to purchase on the day. Chat to the gallerist and ask what else they have that isn't on display. They will be more than happy to arrange an appointment for you to go to their gallery to see more works. The golden rule of art buying? Remember that galleries will almost always negotiate on the price of a work. What can I do if I can't buy art? The fair promises to cater to everyone from the art novice to the most seasoned connoisseur. Even if you're not looking to buy, the weekend will be a wonderful opportunity to see the most exciting contemporary art being produced at the moment. There is an incredibly rich range of public programs, tours, talks and workshops to participate in. Join industry leaders Alexie Glass-Kantor (curator and director of Gertrude Contemporary), Firstdraft directors, and Jane Gillespie (arts administrator at Arts NSW) for daily tours around the fair. Hear Art Pharmacy founder Emilya Coliver's advice on how to engage with contemporary art and follow Sebastian Goldspink of Alaska Projects around as he highlights works by younger, emerging artists. And if, after a long day of art viewing, the dreaded gallery fatigue sets in, you can cool your heels at award-winning restaurant Longrain's pop-up. Sydney Contemporary opens on the evening of Thursday, 19 September, and will then run from 20-22 September at Carriageworks. Tickets are $15-$60. To get you in the mood, Concrete Playground and Sydney Contemporary are giving you the chance to win a bold, hand-signed Perspective scarf by Ai Weiwei and Third Drawer Down. Enter here to win.
Sustainability, maze-like furniture stores and music streaming services are just a few of the things Sweden does better than everybody else. And now, stamps can safely be added to that list. To celebrate the fact that Sweden are pretty darn good at churning out pop musicians, Swedish postal service PostNord have dedicated their next stamp series to some of the best Swedish purveyors of pop. The famous faces include the iconic artist Robyn, folk duo Klara and Johana Söderberg from First Aid Kit, soul singer Seinabo Sey, DJ and producer Avicii and Max Martin, the brain behind at least one of your late-night karaoke faves. And no ABBA, phew. Swedish artist Jenny Mörtsell is responsible for the beautiful illustrations pictured below, which were created from original photos by Alex Wessley, Andreas Larsson, Kirstoffer Berg, Johannes Helje and Mikael Dahl. So how does our good ole national postal service compare? Australia's Stamp Advisory Committee (yes, it's an actual thing) have been celebrating living legends on stamps since 1997 and last year, the Australian Legend series celebrated home-grown musos like Paul Kelly, INXS, The Seekers, Kylie Minogue and others. Not too bad. Maybe with a bit more creativity and by branching out to artists who are, er, born in more recent decades perhaps, we could reach Swedish stamp levels, one day. Just sayin', Australia Post. The pop musician stamps will be available to lick and stick on postal goods in Sweden on January 15. Just enough time to find a Swedish pen pal. Via Pitchfork.
Visiting the Louvre art gallery in Paris is an exciting experience. Battling the crowds to get a glance of Venus de Milo is exciting. Copping an elbow to the face as you attempt to take a selfie with the Mona Lisa is even kinda exciting. But, imagine, if you could spend an entire night inside the Louvre, exploring the halls — and taking many many selfies with Mona Lisa — without any other tourists around. A total dream. And one that could become a reality, thanks to Airbnb. Yep, the company that lets you stay for cheap in other people's homes is giving away a night at the Louvre for you and a mate (date, mum, whoever). As well as spending the night under the iconic glass pyramid, you'll be given a Renaissance-inspired cocktail to toast with Mona — while relaxing on a luxe Parisian lounge and listening to French vinyl records, of course — enjoy an extravagant feast in a pop-up dining room next to Venus de Milo, and watch an acoustic concert inside Napoleon III's lavish apartment. Pick your jaw up off the ground and enter the competition, now. Well, before April 12. This crazy once-in-a-lifetime experience is part of AirBnB's Night At series, where it gifts sleepovers at really over-the-top spots. Previous sleepovers have been held on the Chicago Bulls basketball court, at the top of an Olympic ski jump, in a shark aquarium and on the Great Wall — the list goes on. To enter the competition, you need to answer the question "Why would you be the Mona Lisa's perfect guest?" in 800 characters or less before midnight on Friday, April 12 French time, which the morning of Saturday, April 13 AEDT. The sleepover will take place between April 28 and May 2 (the winner will win a total of three nights in Paris). To win a night at the Louvre head to the Airbnb website. Images: Julian Abrams.
In news set to tickle the fancies of luxury fashion lovers the country over, Melbourne will this month play host to the Aussie leg of Louis Vuitton's Time Capsule exhibition. Chadstone Shopping Centre, which is the largest in the country, has announced it's teamed up with the iconic label to bring the travelling exhibition down under. It comes off the back of recent stops in Shanghai, Singapore, Dubai, Hong Kong and Berlin. It'll run for free from February 24 until March 21, treating visitors to a glimpse at the brand's history and celebrating some of its landmark innovations, pulling together a selection of key objects from the Louis Vuitton archive. Expect plenty of local insertions too, with pieces from the likes of the 2015 Rugby World Cup, former Australian Cricket Captain Michael Clarke and wife of David Jones, Mrs Lloyd Jones. The exhibition's broken into six main parts, including the Artisans Room, featuring a 'live' experience with Louis Vuitton craftsmen, and Journey Around the World, which explores how the brand evolved to meet the demands of new forms of transport. Icons of The House will look back at some of Louis Vuitton's most memorable creations, while Magic Malle takes visitors back to where it all began. News of the Louis Vuitton Time Capsule exhibition comes just a few weeks after Chadstone announced plans to open a $130 million luxury hotel, as it looks to cement its status as an international tourist destination. Louis Vuitton's Time Capsule exhibition will be at Chadstone Shopping Centre, 1341 Dandenong Road, Chadstone from February 24 till March 21, 2018. It will be open from 9am–5pm Monday to Wednesday, 9am–9pm Thursday to Saturday and from 10am–7pm Sunday. For more info, visit chadstone.com.au.
Got brunch plans for this weekend? You could go to your local cafe and order the same old avocado and poached eggs on sourdough, but you've done that a million times. If you want to spice up your Sunday morning, head to Surry Hills, where Lebanese restaurant Nour has recently launched its brunch with a twist. Like any true Middle Eastern feast, leaving hungry is not an option. For $60 per person at Sunday Bites, your table will enjoy a three-course share-style meal with sumptuous dishes that'll put your eggs benny to shame. Think sujuk scotch eggs with tahini and Lebanese katayef pancakes with buffalo ricotta and smoked date ice cream, just to name a few. The set price also includes a cocktail on arrival: Ketel One Citron, Aperol, agave, cardamom and pineapple juice. DJ and singing duo Afrodisiac will be on the decks providing the Sunday brunch beats. Through until December 10, local Sydney designers will also hold 'flash-mob' runways so the fashion-hungry can be doubly fed. The restaurant floor will be the runway, allowing diners to get an up-close look at collections by emerging designers such as Tand Swimwear and Vanessa Moe. Following the launch phase, the fashion collaborations will drop down to once a month — but the food and beats will be on offer every single Sunday.
Turkey, pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce — there is nothing more quintessentially American than Thanksgiving. Earlier this year, Chicago-born brewery Goose Island. set up shop in Tasmania, delivering their premium craft concoctions to bars and pubs nationwide. So, to celebrate its first Turkey Day down under, it's holding an early Thanksgiving dinner at Sydney's National Art School. On Friday, November 10, you and a mate can enjoy a three-course meal paired with a selection of Goose Island brews. The night will include limited edition brews direct from Chicago, some festive tunes and plenty of food, so get those stretchy eating pants ready. Enter below to get your hands on a double pass. [competition]644286[/competition]
Yep: whenever Jordan Peele drops a new film, it instantly proves a must-see, as both the Oscar-winning Get Out and the equally exceptional Us have shown so far. Also yep: when it comes to making the leap from an iconic sketch comedy series to helming horror movies — and having a hand in bringing everything from BlacKkKlansman and the ace latest Candyman flick to Hunters and Lovecraft Country to our eyeballs, too — the former Key & Peele has been having a helluva past five years. And one last yep: the comedian-turned-filmmaker's next flick, his third big-screen directorial effort Nope, couldn't look more eerie, enticing and exciting (aka the classic Peele combination). That was true back in February, when the first sneak peek at Nope dropped and had Get Out star and Judas and the Black Messiah Oscar-winner Daniel Kaluuya ask "what's a bad miracle?". Now that the film has released a full trailer that sheds further light on its narrative, that still remains 100% accurate. The setup: the Haywood ranch is proudly run by the only Black-owned horse trainers in Hollywood (played by Kaluuya and Hustlers' Keke Palmer), whose connection to show business dates back to the very birth of cinema. But their remote patch of inland California soon becomes home to a disturbing discovery — and the fact that everyone spends a fair amount of time either looking up in horror or running away from something chilling in the sky in both trailers says plenty. In the new sneak peek, Kaluuya and Palmer's brother-and-sister duo OJ and Emerald are rocked by tragedy, then spooked by what's happening above. And, yes, Kaluuya utters the movie's title. Emerald decides that they need to capture what's happening on film, which is where Michael Wincott (Veni Vidi Vici) and Brandon Perea (The OA) come in — one charged with standing behind the lens, the other selling tech equipment. With Nope also lending its attention to other California residents who see this uncanny presence in the sky, Steven Yeun (Minari) also pops up as a rodeo cowboy. As with all of Peele's celluloid nightmares so far, the less you know going in when the movie hits cinemas Down Under in August, the better. That said, the two trailers so far do a fantastic job of teasing all of the unsettling imagery that the filmmaker is about to get lodged in your brain, including fields of colourful inflatable tube men waving in the breeze, the creepiest of clouds and shadows, and a big leap into X-Files territory. Check out the full trailer for Nope below: Nope will release in cinemas Down Under on August 11, 2022.
Why should kids have all the fun at Christmas? Ripping open a new treat every day of December is the kind of fun that never gets old, which is why some clever characters have created advent calendars especially for adults. Instead of chocolates or toys, you'll count down to Christmas Day with a daily fix of your favourite booze. From beers and wine, through to top Aussie gins, here's our pick of the best advent calendars for grown ups. BEER BEER CARTEL With over 1,000 craft beers at its Artarmon bottleshop and even more online, it's safe to say Beer Cartel knows a thing or two about the big, wide world of ales and lagers. Its 2017 advent calendar features 24 countdown beers, plus that all-important Christmas Day brew, handpicked from top breweries across Australia and overseas. What's more, there's a whopping 20 different beer styles featured in the lineup. Grab yours online, or at the Sydney store. $119.99 CRAFTY BREW Keep your beer standards high this festive season, with Crafty Brew's all-local, all-craft 2017 advent calendar. The online beer boutique has curated a mix of 24 top-notch brews from across the country and decked out each of those cardboard doors with some fun, Great Barrier Reef-themed artwork, so you can countdown to the big day in style. $119 CARWYN CELLARS' CANVENT CALENDAR Add this one to your Christmas list for 2018, folks. This year, the booze experts at Thornbury's Carwyn Cellars threw together an all-Aussie lineup of craft beer tinnies for their Canvent Advent-ure Calendar, made 200 of them, and they've promptly all sold out. For future festive seasons, you can rest assured there's nothing boring in this mix. Behind the 24 cardboard doors of this slab-shaped creation are some of the most impressive and interesting local drops around, from hop-heavy IPA's, to tastebud-tingling sours, and everything in between. $150 WINE HALLIDAY FESTIVE WINE GUIDE For a DIY twist on the traditional advent calendar, we love Halliday's Christmas creation — a free, downloadable round-up of 24 quality wine picks. You'll need to make the journey to your bottle shop to purchase the goods, though it's curated by the tasting team behind the iconic Halliday Wine Companion guide, so you know you're in good hands. This year's version is set to be released around November 20. THE TWELVE WINES OF CHRISTMAS The lead-up to Christmas becomes one extended wine tasting with Secret Bottle's boozy riff on the advent calendar. Dubbed The Twelve Wines of Christmas, this nifty package features 12 tasting tubes of top Aussie wine — all reds, all whites or an equal mix of both. You'll also score tasting notes and access to special future discounts on any drops you love. $86 THE WINE GALLERY While ploughing through a bottle of wine each day for a month seems slightly unreasonable, the new advent calendar from The Wine Gallery boasts a much more manageable 12 bottles, featuring the sommelier-led start-up's highest rating wines of 2017. Yes, it's a mighty handy collection to have on hand during the festive season. Drink a few solo, share some with mates and save a couple for those last-minute Christmas pressies. $285 CIDER BOOZE BUD Those balmy days in the lead-up to Christmas are prime time for cider sipping, so the crew at Booze Bud have put together an advent calendar featuring a selection of Australia's favourite cider varieties. You'll enjoy 25 different bottles and cans, in a range of styles both sweet and dry. This year's lineup is being kept under wraps, though last year's included treats from the likes of Pagan, Jachmann, Batlow and Willie Smith's. Booze Bud also offers a beer-filled version of its countdown calendar. $109.99 SPIRITS MASTER OF MALT WHISKY CALENDAR How does 24 pre-Christmas drams sound? International online spirits retailer Masters of Malt has again dipped into its impressive collection to create the whisky-filled advent calendar of your dreams. The 2017 edition features 24 wax-sealed 3cl serves of whisky, including award-winning drops from around the world and plenty of drool-worthy single malts. There's even one worth £600 a bottle. $213.72 GINTONICA Hardcore gin-thusiasts will be clamouring to get their mitts on Gintonica's all-Aussie gin advent calendar, which features an expertly curated lineup of spirits from 21 of our finest distilleries. In addition to the 24 50mL bottles of local gin, it's got a bunch of great extras, including tasting notes and serving suggestions from the distillers, a map showing 101 Australian and New Zealand gin producers, and cocktail recipes from The Martini Whisperer. $295 CARWYN CELLARS DECEMBER SURVIVAL KIT Depending on your festive season stress levels, Carwyn Cellars' gin-filled advent calendar is either a fun Christmas countdown or a sweet, boozy lifeline, aptly dubbed the December Survival Kit. This one's a celebration of Australian gin, filled with 24 30mL nips from some of the country's top distilleries. You'll be reacquainted with some old favourites and make a few new discoveries as well. $220
Ambitious is an understatement when it comes to the infamously ongoing construction of Antoni Gaudí’s famous basilica, Sagrada Familia, in Barcelona. Eighty-seven years have passed since the death of the Catalan virtuoso. During this time, a subsequent nine architects have continued the project, striving to adhere to Gaudi's original vision. However, according to the current chief architect, Jordi Fauli, the basilica will be completed by 2026. And even more excitingly, the Sagrada Familia Foundation has released a computer-generated glimpse into what the finished product will look like. Each architect who has taken on this eccentric masterpiece has encountered a unique set of challenges. One of the central problems was the destruction of Gaudi’s workshop, containing the building plans and models, during the Spanish Civil War. This resulted in a slow process of piecing together the essential details of the project. There's also the issue of decoding Gaudi’s highly unorthodox method of design. Rarely putting pen to paper, he created 3D scale models, moulding his uncanny inventions as he conceived them. Gaudi famously stated, "my client is not in a hurry," and clearly there is no substitute for perfection. You have to admire the commitment of a man who put so much faith in engineering technologies that hadn’t been invented yet. It is only recently that the special lightweight concrete cladding has been developed to complete the uppermost spires. To comprehend the scope of this magnificent structure really demands a visit to Barcelona. It is all too easy to whittle away the daylight hours inside this basilica, admiring the kaleidoscopic effect of light filtering in through stained glass windows or Gaudi’s distinctive organic structures blossoming like flowers across an impossibly intricate ceiling. Will the endless construction come to a close by 2026? Only time will tell. Via Gizmodo and My Modern Met.
This article is sponsored by our partners, Wotif.com. If you’ve been thinking that tropical island holidays are all lazing on the sand and drinking cocktails by the pool, think again. Sure, you can make them an excuse to read every book in the Game of Thrones series or catch up on the 200 hours of sleep deprivation that you’ve clocked up over the past year, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Even if you’ve been to the Whitsundays before, there’s never a shortage of adventures to be had: from taking to the skies on a scenic flight to sailing on an old-school ship to spending a night sleeping under the stars on the Great Barrier Reef. Choose your own adventure. HIGH FLYER: SCENIC SEAPLANE FLIGHT Once you’ve seen the Great Barrier Reef from underwater, from the deck of a boat and from the land, there’s only one way left to the see it, really — from the sky. A scenic seaplane flight carries you soaring into the air, treating you to 60 solid minutes of bird’s eye views. Sights that will make you ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’ like it’s New Year’s Eve all over again include the swirling sands of Hill Inlet, which look a bit like Impressionist artworks created by some enormous Druidic paintbrush; Bait Reef’s magical stepping stones; and Hardy Lagoon, the most photographed spot in the entire Great Barrier Reef National Park (and there’s some mean competition!). But they’re just the starting gun; the itinerary includes a sizeable list of other gobsmacking spots: Shute Harbour, Daydream Island, Hayman Island, Hook Island, the Molle Group of Islands, Whitsunday Island and the Whitsunday Passage. What’s more, it’s not all macroscopic panoramas. At various points, the seaplane descends to 500 feet, giving you the chance to partake in some turtle and ray spotting. Between June and October, you’re highly likely to see humpbacks, too. And for some added excitement, the pilot makes a touch-and-go water landing at the reef. Scenic flights carry between four and ten people each and depart from Airlie Beach. ALL-ROUND ADVENTURER: 3-DAY SAIL, SCUBA DIVE AND KAYAK Here’s the choose your own adventure option for indecisive types and commitment-phobes: the all-rounder. Why settle for one activity when you can take on the whole kit and caboodle? During this three-day extravaganza, you get to sail, snorkel, scuba dive, kayak and bush walk. Here’s how it works: for 72 hours or so, you live aboard the Summertime, a beautiful, traditional-style sailing vessel built in 1947, complete with rustic timber square rigging. But the good news is you don’t have to do any traditional living — if you don’t want to. You can get as olde worlde and Sailor Jerry-ish as you like, but you’ll still have the option of jumping into a freshwater hot Jacuzzi, turning on the air conditioning and dissolving in front of a DVD whenever you feel to. Nine luxurious berths make up the accommodation. The same goes for the action-packed itinerary. As the Summertime carries you from one secluded cove or silky-sanded beach to another, you can get involved in as many or as few activities as you like. Some travellers jump at every chance while others opt to spend every ounce of their precious energy moving between the Jacuzzi and the deck. It’s up to you. OUTDOOR NATURE LOVER: OVERNIGHT SLEEP ON THE GREAT BARRIER REEF If you still haven’t recovered from reading Treasure Island, Robinson Crusoe or perhaps Life of Pi, this one's for you. Pack your list of ‘top-five-items-I’d-take-with-me-to-a-desert-island’ and turn your long-cherished childhood survival fantasy into a reality. Given that the Great Barrier Reef is heritage listed, not to mention one of the world’s natural wonders, you can’t just go around sleeping on any old coral bed of your choosing; in fact, there’s only one place on the reef where you’re able to catch some shut-eye, and this adventure — dubbed Reefsleep — is it. A high-speed luxury vessel transports you for an 11am arrival. You spend the day doing as you please — be it swimming, grabbing a massage, snorkelling, diving, catching a heli-scenic flight or checking out the local underwater viewing chamber. Then, at 3pm, the ship splits the scene, leaving you, your fellow adventurers and the crew all on your lonesome. The only guests you can expect are some turtles who drop by at dusk for a seaweed feast. A maximum of 12 overnighters is permitted at any one time and accommodation is in the form of good ol’ Aussie swag — available in single or double sizes. Food is included in the deal. ISLAND EXPLORER: WHITSUNDAY ISLAND HOPPER PASS Do you have an aversion to strict timetables and pre-planned activities? Island hopping is the way to go. With this pass, you can travel The Whitsundays at your own pace and according to your own itinerary. It gives you access to high-speed vessels that spend all day travelling between Daydream Island and Long Island, dropping off and picking up guests at their whim. Between the two islands, pretty much any tropical activity is on the cards. While the time away sunbaking and swimming or get deep with a dose of snorkelling or scuba diving. Alternatively, stay terrestrial with long beach strolls, rainforest walks or a round or two on Daydream Island’s 19-hole mini golf course. There’s also a variety of restaurants, cafes and cocktail bars. The Whitsunday Island Hopper boats leave from Abel Point Marina throughout the day. You’re advised to take your toothbrush and credit card with you, just in case you miss the last ride back and wind up island-bound for the night. Book your Whitsundays escape now via Wotif.com.
If you haven't been down to King's Cross for a look at FBi Social, this upcoming gig is offering you the chance to check it out under optimum conditions. Having shipped some of their talent overseas and back last year, Ghostwood have returned to Sydney with new sounds in tow. They're doing the Social Saturday night, ready to ooze an energetic charm which leaves local writers leaking praise in a style unheard since the Arctic Monkeys shoved their way into the local zeitgeist. Ghostwood's vocals jangle like early Beatles voices, tangling your ears in a sonic landscape that's not so much a snaking wall of sound as a plush tunnel. Something rock, something contemplative and something harsh. Whatever brand of thump and energy you go for, the band has it in excess. While they seem like a hard act to follow, or even to precede, bombastic cognate-singers Betty Airs will be playing support and local rock trio Hailer as well. Any of them has enough sound to fill this cozy venue, and with all three there's no excuse not to stop by for a closer look.
The cola wars are now fought on a battlefield of green credentials: Coke and Pepsi are already in an arms race over the sustainability of their bottles, and now Coke has taken the fight to shelving. Their Give It Back displays are made from recycled Coke packaging cardboard and are designed to be used, then recycled again once past their 'shelf-life'. While there is very little new in the concept — at the end of the day, it's just recycled cardboard — it's good to see the drinks giant taking up new green initiatives, which will hopefully provoke others into following suit or coming up with their own ideas. As an added bonus, it should help Americans (the shelving is only planned for US stores) come to appreciate the humble corrugated cardboard. Of course, here in Australia we're reminded of its sturdiness every election, but Coke's initiative should help people start to accept cardboard as more than just the stuff things come in. Research into the properties of cardboard suggest it could be an ideal building material for housing. [via core77]
Thomas M. Wright, director of Doku Rai (you, dead man, I don't believe you), prefaces our interview with a disclaimer. "The difficult thing to begin, with talking about Doku Rai, is to acknowledge that we can only ever scrape the surface," he asserts, caffeine-eyed after "seven hours' sleep over the past four days". "Talking to me about this production is like talking to one angle of a cut stone. You're only going to see it through my prism. Every time I talk with others involved, the number of refractions is just infinite. You'll hear every event from a different perspective. The stories are limitless." Doku Rai is a collaboration between Melbourne's Black Lung Theatre and Whaling Firm and "East Timorese rock gods" Liurai Fo'er and Galaxy. It opened last year at Darwin Festival, Melbourne Arts House and Adelaide Festival. Having appeared at Brisbane Festival last week, it will come to Carriageworks on 25-28 September. As well as being a co-founder of the Black Lung and renowned theatre actor, you might remember Wright for his role as Johnno Mitcham in Jane Campion's Top of the Lake, for which he received a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the 2013 US Critics' Choice Awards. AN ABANDONED HOTEL, A REMOTE ISLAND Doku Rai is the first ever international theatre production to emerge from Timor-Leste. Conceived in 1999 when Wright met East Timorese actor, rock star and ex-guerrilla fighter Osme Gonsalves on the set of Balibo, it came to fruition 18 months ago. For 60 days, 30 Australian and East Timorese creatives holed themselves up in an abandoned colonial motel on the volcanic island of Atauro. Their mission: to create an epic work of cross-cultural collaboration; their method: undecided. "The word confronting doesn't even begin to describe the process of making this work," Wright says. "The writing was very complex. It took a lot of different forms — slabs of text from anecdotes, personal conversations, improvisation, individuals' writing, writing that already existed — interwoven in a way that an audience can only sense, and not really know, because there are so many circumstances, histories, myths and real events. But that's what gives it its sense of depth." TWO BROTHERS, A CURSE AND A DEATHLESS MURDER At Doku Rai's core is the "mythical structure" of two brothers, a curse and a man who is killed but cannot die. "A doku is a curse — a weapon — that has been used through the past twelve generations or more of occupied Timorese," Wright explains. "It's a tool by which, in a ceremony, you take all the coherence from a person, you rob them of their faculties, and that makes them vulnerable for you to do what you will with them. "Literally, the act of doku is 'turning over'. So, you set a table for a meal, with a place set for the absent person. You all share in the food, and at the end, you perform a ceremony. You cut open the liver of a chicken to get an augury and then turn the absent guest's plate, bowl and glass upside down. That is the acting of the curse. 'Rai' means earth, soil, so Doku Rai means 'to curse the earth', or 'the turning of the earth'." SHATTERING PATERNAL ASSUMPTIONS With this imagery at its dark heart, Doku Rai is driven by the personal, rather than the political. Unconfined by a linear narrative or governing aesthetic, it combines rock music, multimedia, unexpected dashes of black humour and a surprise guest, in the form of a live rooster, in an indefinite setting. "It has moorings in the world of East Timor and echoes of the Portuguese colonial past, but it's a fictional reality," Wright explains. "It has, certainly not aesthetic echoes of the Australian engagement, but thematic ties ... In Australia, we do have a very condescending, very paternal relationship with a lot of our neighbours. And we wanted to shatter that — to make something on purely personal terms. We know that the political implications and political realities are all there; we don't need to foreground them. They take care of themselves, just by dealing with personal stories. Beyond [Doku Rai] is a three-dimensional, constantly evolving life, with a past that goes back a long way and a future that also extends outward. There is certainly a responsibility with the audience to invest - to place themselves into scenarios and to consider the real people and the circumstances behind the making of the work. No matter how interesting and taut and strong a work we make, it's only ever going to be as interesting as the process of making it, at best." REHEARSING THROUGH BLACK OUTS AND GUN BATTLES That process was about as "interesting" as it gets. Wright and his team battled black outs, water shortages and gun battles. "When we did the show in Dili," he recalls, "we had to do it in very reduced circumstances, because there was a total 'no movement' order issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Violence had broken out following an election, which was very, very frightening. Half of us were stranded on the island and half of us were in lockdown in a house which was isolated down a corridor of gangs in Dili. Our producer, Alex Ben-Mayor, had to drive through a gun fight. Two of the students of our production members were shot in the head and killed by police." That's but a microcosm of what daily life in East Timor can entail. "To be honest, and to be clear, their stories are screaming to be told," Wright asserts. "We've told our stories for years and years and years." Doku Rai (you, dead man, i don't believe you) will show at Carriageworks between Wednesday September 25 and Saturday September 28, 2013. Shows start at 8pm, plus there's an additional 2pm matinee on Saturday September 28. Tickets, $35, are available online.
Life is a bit of a rollercoaster ride at the moment. Yes, that's an understatement. Lockdowns, restrictions, new community cases, growing exposure sites lists — they're all providing quite the ups and downs, and have been throughout the pandemic. Prefer to ride the peaks and troughs on actual theme park attractions? We all do, and now Disney+ has a new series about just that. Across ten episodes — the first five of which will drop on the streaming platform on Wednesday, July 21 — Behind the Attraction covers exactly what's on the label. It heads to the Mouse House's sprawling theme parks, checks out some of the popular rides found within them and tells their tales. Disney loves an origin story, after all, and it has the Marvel and Star Wars movies to prove it, so of course it's now giving its real-life attractions the same treatment. Viewers can find out more about Disney's Haunted Mansion attraction and Space Mountain ride, as well as The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and the Star Tours that form part of the recently launched Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge. And, Jungle Cruise also earns some attention, complete with Dwayne Johnson lending a hand — with the movie of the same name, starring Johnson, due in cinemas from Thursday, July 29 and on Disney+ on Friday, July 30. As well as talking heads expressing their enthusiasm for these attractions and explaining how they work, the series features archival and never-before-seen footage and photographs that step through the rides' histories. Explaining how they've evolved, and how technology has assisted, is a part of the show as well. Clearly, Behind the Attraction is basically an advertisement for Disney's theme parks. Physically hopping on a rollercoaster hasn't been high on most folks' to-do lists during the last year or so — and definitely isn't right now if you're a Sydneysider or Melburnian currently in lockdown — so consider this a way to scratch that itch from home. Check out the trailer below: The first five episodes of Behind the Attraction will be available to view via Disney+ from Wednesday, July 21.
It's been 357 days and many excruciating hours of silence since the last episode of Serial season one appeared on our Podcasts app and life ceased to be as thrilling as it once was. But now, after almost a year of insane anticipation, Sarah Koenig and the This American Life crew have uploaded the first episode of season two. And, boy, is the Internet excited. While season one focused solely on the 1999 murder of Hae Min Lee and whether the conviction of her ex-boyfriend Adnan Syed for the crime was right or wrong, this season's story looks like it will be asking more than one question. It will follow the story of Bowe Bergdahl, the American soldier who, in 2009, walked off his army base in Afghanistan, was captured by the Taliban and held as a prisoner of war for five years. There has since been speculation as to whether other soldiers died directly or indirectly because of his actions. And now, he's been charged with desertion and misbehaviour before the enemy, which could result in a life sentence. Oof. The podcast was released yesterday morning U.S. time, and host Sarah Koenig promptly posted this on the Serial website: "This story—it spins out in so many unexpected directions. Because, yes, it’s about Bowe Bergdahl and about one strange decision he made, to leave his post. (And Bergdahl, by the way, is such an interesting and unusual guy, not like anyone I’ve encountered before.) But it’s also about all of the people affected by that decision, and the choices they made. Unlike our story in Season One, this one extends far out into the world. It reaches into swaths of the military, the peace talks to end the war, attempts to rescue other hostages, our Guantanamo policy. What Bergdahl did made me wrestle with things I’d thought I more or less understood, but really didn’t: what it means to be loyal, to be resilient, to be used, to be punished." The podcast will be one of the first times the public has heard from Bergdahl and — if season one is anything to go by — it will surely be as gloriously addictive to listen to as it is to talk about with everyone from your colleagues to the lady sitting next to you on the bus. Sarah, it's so good to hear your voice again. You can listen to the first episode here.
The first rule of Fight Night is: you do not talk about Fight Night. But the second rule? You will have your voice heard. Theatre-goers exercise their voting muscles in this pugnacious work, a collaboration between Belgium's Ontroerend Goed and Adelaide's The Border Project. In a kind of popularity contest-meets-game show format, five contenders battle it out to win approval from the audience, who use handheld voting technology to keep their favourite candidate in the running. Described by the Independent as "a cross between Big Brother and an Italian general election", it's an interactive show that manages to make a profound statement about democracy without ever having to explicitly refer to it, inviting viewers to reflect on the complexities of choice itself. Politics is a game, says Ontroerend Goed's Angelo Tijssens, who was asked by director Alexander Devriendt to play the show's bowtie-clad MC. "People love to see winners and losers, and the tension of waiting for the results," says Angelo. "We cheer for that person, we don’t cheer for the other person. And very often it doesn’t have anything to do with what they actually stand for." With that in mind, the show's contenders never discuss a specific policy. Instead the focus is on the voting process, how we're influenced and how we choose — ideas so internationally relevant it's understandable that Fight Night will soon be translated into Turkish and Cantonese. With over 60 performances under his belt, Angelo remains struck by how reliably audiences succumb to the techniques contenders use to gain votes: usually the same ancient tricks of rhetoric, false modesty and charming manipulation that we fall for as voters. But ultimately, it's not a cynical show. "We still believe in that system [democracy]," he says. "That it’s really a wonderful system. People are prepared to die for it so it would be cynical to say that it just doesn’t work any more. That would be a crime." The Border Project first became acquainted with Ontroerend Goed years ago at Adelaide Festival and crossed paths again in 2012 when OG (the inevitable abbreviation of a very tricky name) performed A History of Everything with the STC's residents, several of whom were Border Project members. Working together this time involved a three-month rehearsal process, during which the Aussies adjusted to the freer Belgian practice of occasionally calling it a day at 2pm to go home and digest things. "I think we’re artists and it’s better to go home and think about it and have coffee and two packs of cigarettes and then get back to work," says Angelo. "Well, it works better for us." The Aussie contingent apparently also adjusted to the Belgian nicotine habit. "They’ve started smoking again. I don’t think they like it but they do it just to please us." If you saw The Smile Off Your Face at the 2009 Sydney Festival, the good/bad news is this time you won't be blindfolded and pushed around in a wheelchair. Fight Night won't provide the same sense of shock or potential outrage for audience members with a rigid sense of the theatrical rulebook, which might explain the drama-free reception so far in comparison to other shows Angelo recalls ("Audience was a lot worse. I remember in Edinburgh a guy actually started throwing his shoes — heavy, Scottish, I-shall-walk-in-the-mountains kind of boots — so that was pretty, um, full-on?") But the warm invitation to interact so essential to OG as a company is still there, just on a more subtle level. "We're still doing the same thing," says Angelo. "We still take them by the hand, and we don’t drag them along. They get to choose whether they join us or not. Luckily, most people come along." Fight Night is on at The Wharf Theatres' Wharf 2 from March 20 to April 13 as part of the Sydney Theatre Company season. Limited tickets are left. Our advice? Try to nab a Suncorp Twenties ticket: just $20, with a new batch made available weekly.
