One Sydney stalwart is set to be replaced by an even older reincarnation this spring. Potts Point's seven-year-old The Fish Shop — which was helmed by the late and great Jeremy Strode — will close its doors this June and reopen as Merivale's bygone bistro and cocktail bar, Lotus. This award-winning venue will make a grand return to its Challis Avenue digs with a revamped menu and an all-star team — with Lotus's original head chef, Dan Hong (Ms. G's, Mr. Wong, El Loco), once again at the helm. Lotus was Hong's first head chef position, which he snagged at just 24-years-old after returning to Sydney from a stint in New York. While most of the menu will be brand new, fans of the original can expect the return of a few favourite dishes, including the cheeseburger, sweet wasabi tuna and hot fudge sundaes for dessert. You can also count on plenty of Hong's signature, creative Asian touches throughout the Mediterranean-style menu. [caption id="attachment_724425" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Nikki To[/caption] Back in the day, Lotus's decadent and lively atmosphere made it a Kings Cross go-to for over a decade, and the team fully plans to bring back these good-time vibes. While it hasn't yet been announced who'll be joining Hong behind the bar or on the floor, the venue was originally home to Sydney bartender extraordinaire Alexx Stuart and Merivale's Chief Food & Beverage Officer Frank Roberts — so expect some equally big names to be announced in the upcoming months. Lotus 2.0 will open in September and exist as an extended pop-up until the new owners take over the building — Merivale CEO Justin Hemmes sold the three-storey property last month, after it had been owned by his family since 1988. While an exact end date has not yet been set, the restaurant will remain open at least into 2020 at this stage. For those keen to grab one last taste of The Fish Shop, you have just about two weeks until it closes up for good on Sunday, June 16. Find The Fish Shop at 22 Challis Avenue, Potts Point until Sunday, June 16. Lotus 2.0 will open this September. Keep an eye on this space for further announcements. Images: Nikki To.
It's the kind of dazzling space that you could easily lose a whole day to, and it seems that plenty of people have. A year after opening, Tokyo's teamLab Borderless Digital Art Museum has revealed that it welcomed more than 2.3 million visitors in its first 12 months, making it the most visited single-artist museum in the world. In this case, the term 'single artist' doesn't mean that everything that graces the site's walls, floors and ceiling is the work of just one person, with teamLab comprised of a collective of creatives. Still, Borderless' entry figures for the year exceed the other top single-artist venues, eclipsing the Van Gogh Museum's 2017 record high, the last reported figures for Spain's Dali Museums in the same year and the Picasso Museum's numbers for 2018. The first, in the Netherlands, saw 2.26 million patrons through the door, while the second reached 1.44 million across three sites and the third hit 948,483. [caption id="attachment_701274" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Sarah Ward[/caption] While plenty of Japanese locals have made the trip to teamLab's permanent Odaiba facility, almost half of Borderless' visitors hail from overseas. Folks from more than 160 countries and regions made the trip, with the most coming from the USA, followed by Australia, China, Thailand, Canada and the United Kingdom. teamLab's other Tokyo site, teamLab Planets in Toyosu, also attracted huge numbers over its first year. Another immersive space — this time asking patrons to walk barefoot through its digital artworks — it received 1.25 million visitors from 106 global locations. It's safe to assume that patronage at teamLabs two current pop-ups — across 500,000 square metres of Japanese forest and hot springs, and in old oil tanks in Shanghai — will also prove rather healthy. For Australians keen to get a glimpse of the collective's work without jetting overseas, it's bringing its sculptures of light and "cascades of shimmering luminescence" to this year's Melbourne International Arts Festival in October. Find teamLab Borderless Tokyo: MORI Building Digital Art Museum in Odaiba Palette Town, 1-3-8 Aomi, Koto-ku, Tokyo, Japan. It's open seven days a week — for more information, visit the museum's website. Via Business Wire.
Get ready to swoon. Nick Cave has just announced a tour of Australia and New Zealand in November and December this year, and unencumbered by new releases, he'll be playing a wide selection of classics that stretch right back into his 30-year catalogue. Unlike Cave's 2013 Push the Sky Away tour with featured his much-loved band The Bad Seeds, this will be a rare solo outing. Prepare yourself now — you're probably going to cry when he plays 'Into My Arms'. News of this tour comes fresh after the premiere of 20,000 Days on Earth — a fictional documentary (just go with it) about this legendary musician. We enjoyed this 90 minutes of one-on-one time with the artist so much we even named the film one the best at this year's Sydney Film Festival. Now we get to make this alone time a reality; just like in the cinema, this tour will be you and Nick Cave (and a bunch of strangers) in the dark. Beginning in late November, Cave will be hitting up Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, Auckland, Wellington, Sydney and Melbourne. And, though the venues are large, the tickets will be snapped up quick. Hopefully these latter mid-December dates spell further good news for Melbourne fans though. Nick Cave at the Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre, anyone? Oh god, please say it's so. Tour dates: Thursday, November 27 & Friday, November 28 - Fremantle Arts Centre, Perth Sunday, November 30 - Festival Theatre, Adelaide Wednesday, December 3 - Brisbane Convention Centre, Brisbane Thursday, December 4 - Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre, Gold Coast Saturday, December 6 & Sunday, December 7 - Civic Theatre, Auckland Monday, December 8 & Tuesday, December 9 - St James Theatre, Wellington Thursday, December 11 & Friday, December 12 - State Theatre, Sydney Tuesday, December 16 - Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre, Melbourne Tickets go on sale Thursday, July 3.
It's about time for her arrival: Christina Aguilera's, that is, with the 'Dirrty', 'Genie in a Bottle', 'What a Girl Wants', 'Lady Marmalade' and 'Beautiful' singer heading Down Under this November for a one-night-only gig. Hitting Australia for the first time since 2007, the singer headlines Victoria's statewide music celebration Always Live, which is returning in 2023 for its second year after a successful debut run in 2022. Aguilera will play Melbourne's Flemington Racecourse on Saturday, November 25, in a show that'll also mark 20 years since her album Stripped. One of pop music's former Mouseketeers, the six-time Grammy-winner leads a bill that spans more than 165 artists at 60-plus events — all in Victoria. In other words, she spearheads a lineup that's designed to get the state's residents hitting up live gigs, and to entice tourists from the rest of the country to make music-filled holiday plans. 2023's leg of Always Live runs for 17 days, from Friday, November 24–Sunday, December 10, with a feast of shows — also including Swedish DJ and producer Eric Prydz bringing his HOLO set our way in an Australia–New Zealand exclusive; songwriter and producer Jai Paul also playing his only shows in this neck of the woods; and Jessie Ware putting on two intimate evenings outside her Summer Camp headlining stint. Already on the Meredith bill, Caroline Polachek has added a solo gig at Melbourne's Forum Theatre. Also a huge highlight: BLAKTIVISM at Hamer Hall, with King Stingray, Tasman Keith, Emma Donovan, Uncle Bart Willoughby, Deline Briscoe, Sorong Samarai and Suga Cane Mamas. For Swifties, tribute gig Taylor Made will see Alex The Astronaut, Charley, Clare Bowditch, Emily Wurramurra, Kate Miller-Heidke, Lisa Mitchell and Sophia J Smith shaking off their best Taylor Swift covers. [caption id="attachment_899478" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Raph_PH via Wikimedia Commons.[/caption] Returning from last year, Emma Donovan and Friends will again hero acoustic tunes from First Nations artists, while purpose-built pop-up studio SOUNDBOX will be back at the Arts Centre Melbourne forecourt. The jam-packed program also boasts the Tones and I-curated Music In the Park in Mornington, featuring The Cat Empire, The Veronicas, Budjerah, KAIIT and The Pierce Brothers; the Gonna Be Good series, with everyone from Holy Holy, Aleksiah, ILLY and The Temper Trap to Northeast Party House, Casey Barnes and Ruby Fields; Summer Camp, as already announced; and SOULTRAINS, which is getting Lee Fields & The Expressions, plus Surprise Chef, playing four venues along four Metro train lines. Still on a railway theme, there's End of the Line, a festival popping ip at the end of the train lines in Sandringham and Williamstown. Clare Bowditch headlines the former, and Alex Lahey the latter. And, music lovers can look forward to the Jamaican Food and Music Festival at Seaworks, the Ballroom Mix Tapes series at Brunswick Ballroom — which will launch brand-new releases — and a regional tour by Amyl and the Sniffers. Throw in Peter Garrett and The Alter Egos hitting Wangarratta Arts Centre, Cosmic Psychos marking their 40th anniversary and A.B. Original headlining a free show at Victoria Park Lake, and clearly the list well and truly goes on. In fact, there's so much to fit in that an event called Garage Band will pop up on Saturday, October 14, before the Always Live dates, featuring 25 emerging bands playing an original song each on four stages in Federation Square. Always Live 2023 runs from Friday, November 24–Sunday, December 10, with one pre-festival gig on Saturday, October 14. For more information, and to get tickets, head to the festival website. Christina Aguilera will play Melbourne's Flemington Racecourse on Saturday, November 25, with pre sales from 12pm AEST on Tuesday, August 29 and general sales from 12pm AEST on Wednesday, August 20.
A new hotel in a historic building. A name well-known Down Under opening its first-ever location beyond Australia and New Zealand. A fresh excuse to spend your next holiday in southeast Asia. These all apply to the latest venue to join the QT Hotels & Resorts chain: the just-opened QT Singapore. Maybe you've experienced the gothic charm of QT Sydney. Perhaps you've enjoyed slumbering at the site of a former cinema at QT Melbourne. At QT Gold Coast, you could've slept in rooftop cabins. Or, at QT Newcastle, you might've bunked down in a clock tower. QT Queenstown comes with alpine views, while QT Auckland heroes the harbour. Now, add staying in Singapore's Eastern Extension Telegraph building, which dates back to 1927 and is located right next to the Lau Pa Sat hawker centre, to the list. It was back in May that QT revealed that it was launching in the city-state come spring — and the brand's Singapore hotel has opened its doors on Monday, September 16, 2024. Guests can check into one of 134 rooms behind the iconic building's striking facade, which has remained the same while the interiors have undergone a complete revamp to deck it out in QT's aesthetic. The chain's look varies from hotel to hotel, but always stands out from other places to stay. Interior designer Nic Graham has done the honours, with reflecting Singapore's climate and evolution — and the building's location and heritage — the main aim of his approach to the site's decor. Think: bold colours yet delicate lighting, woven rattan and black framing featuring heavily, print works by local artist Jill Tran in public spaces and a classic-yet-contemporary vibe. The array of rooms includes junior, corner, balcony and premier suites with double ceilings. Whichever type you choose, each one features a walk-in rain shower in the ensuite bathroom, a QT Dream Bed, an iPad to control everything around the room (including the Chromecast and wireless Bose speakers) and Dyson hair products. Holidaymakers can also take advantage of the dining and drinks options onsite, such as signature bar and grill Cygnet, plus rooftop bar Rooftop by QT. The first is a Manhattan-style steakhouse with chef and restaurateur Sean Connolly leading the charge — and a place that serves up its signature dishes tableside. The second sits alongside a sky-high pool for sips and splashes with a view, goes big on cocktails made from local ingredients and peers out over the skyline. And, if you're keen on having a shindig on your getaway, private dining is also on offer. Find QT Singapore at 35 Robinson Road, Singapore — and head to the hotel's website for bookings and further details. Images: QT Hotels & Resorts.
Ever since 2025's Sydney Film Festival first started revealing its program back in March, the event was on track for a huge year. How big? By the numbers, the fest screened 242 films, and put on 448 screenings and events. Among that massive lineup of sessions, more than 150 sold out. So, it should come as no surprise that this year's SFF also made history thanks to its 150,000-plus attendees. That hefty number of folks who spent some or all of the festival's 12-day run from Wednesday, June 4–Sunday, June 15 in a Sydney cinema is an 11-percent increase on 2024's attendance figure. It also makes SFF 2205 the highest-selling festival in its history. As Sydney Film Festival CEO Frances Wallace described it, "this year has been extraordinary". "It's amazing that after 72 years, the Sydney Film Festival is stronger than ever. It's a tribute to the organisers and the tens of thousands of film fans who've turned out. This festival, its fans and its filmmakers have once again created an absolute highlight in Sydney's events calendar," said New South Wales Minister for the Arts John Graham about the fest's 2025 achievement. "As the curtain falls on another unforgettable Sydney Film Festival, we look back on and celebrate the bold storytelling, diverse voices and shared cinematic journeys that lit up our screens and sparked our imaginations," added Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore. "I look forward to our continued partnership with the Sydney Film Festival and all that it brings to our fine city." The fest came to an end for 2025 with a closing-night gala that gave relationship comedy Splitsville its Australian premiere — and first screening anywhere beyond its Cannes debut — and announced this year's prizewinners. Receiving the $60,000 Sydney Film Prize for the most "audacious, cutting edge and courageous" movie in the fest's Official Competition: Jafar Panahi's It Was Just an Accident, fresh from taking home the Palme d'Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival, too, and with the iconic Iranian filmmaker himself in attendance in the Harbour City. That said, the event that opened with body-horror Together, gave Ari Aster's Eddington its Aussie premiere and boasted DEATH STRANDING's Hideo Kojima among its guests isn't actually quite done for 2025 so far. The official festival itself has said goodbye until 2026, but it's also screening Back By Popular Demand encore sessions between Tuesday, June 17–Friday, June 20 at Dendy Newtown, Palace Cinemas Norton Street and Ritz Cinemas. Sydney Film Festival 2025 ran from Wednesday, June 4–Sunday, June 15 at various cinemas and venues around Sydney. The fest is screening four days of encores via Sydney Film Festival's 2025 Back By Popular Demand bonus screenings at Dendy Newtown, Palace Cinemas Norton Street and Ritz Cinemas Randwick between Tuesday, June 17–Friday, June 20. For more information and tickets, head to the festival's website. Jafar Panahi images: Tim Levy.
This article is part of our series on the diverse highlights of NZ's Canterbury region, from city to snow. To book your Canterbury trip, visit the 100% Pure New Zealand website. There's nothing quite like a road trip. Even if you're not completely sold on the idea of long hours wedged into the backseat of your friend's Corolla, the high points of a roadie — driving along the highway, windows down, the purpose-made road trip playlist blaring, obviously — definitely outweigh the low ones. Especially when you've got incredible scenery and lots of awe-worthy stops along the way. That's why New Zealand is made for road trips. Not only is it crazy beautiful with a landscape that changes at every turn (right or wrong), it's a country that you can cross in little more than three hours. It's tiny. Unlike Australia, driving around NZ isn't a ridiculous task — everything's compact, and it never takes more than a few hours to get somewhere great. In fact, you probably won't even need to pee on the side of the road once. There are a slew of routes you can take to get right down the North and South Islands, but for an easy drive and a chance to see the most in a short amount of time, take your road trip to Canterbury. The region that includes Christchurch and its surrounds — from Kaikoura all the way down to Timaru and across to the Southern Alps — it boasts a landscape that's so incredibly diverse, it's almost unbelievable. In any one day you can be driving across the plains, through snow-topped mountains and around glaciers — without even leaving the snug confines of the region. So what exactly should you mark on your map? Start in Christchurch and make your way down to the ski region, pull up under the stars at Lake Tekapo and put your hiking boots on at Mount Cook — it's all in our guide to the ultimate Canterbury road trip. Christchurch In Canterbury, Christchurch is your best base. It's New Zealand's second biggest city so you can get a direct flight with Air New Zealand from Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne for a coupla hundred bucks. It's choice. From the airport, pick up your ride and head into the city — it's a simple enough drive and, bonus, road rules are basically the same for Australians. It just gets a bit tricky (read: impossible) once you hit the city centre, as a heap of roads are either one-way or closed and lanes are defined by a small army of witches hats. Christchurch is a city rebuilding, but that doesn't mean there's not a lot happening. The locals here are making it work, and it's incredible to see how they're reinventing the city as their own. You'd be best to take a full day here — two if you can — to eat, drink, see and learn. The CBD isn't that big, so you can easily walk from breakfast at Black Betty to the Re:START shipping container mall and the Christchurch Art Gallery. Make sure you take a walk to the Botanic Gardens (they're the third biggest city gardens in the world, behind New York and Munich) and head over to New Regent Street for dinner and then a drink in the Christchurch's cosiest whiskey bar, The Last Word. The surrounding suburbs have it going on too, so, seeing as you've got wheels, head out to The Tannery shopping precinct in Woolston and picturesque port town Lyttleton. Stay: The George, 50 Park Terrace, Christchurch Central, thegeorge.com Methven Whether you have a carload of ski bunnies or not, Methven is the perfect little ski town to stop off at once you leave Christchurch. Just an hour or so out of the city, Methven sits near the base of Mt Hutt, so it's teeming with ski pros and staff that work up on the mountain. They frequent the Blue Pub and the Brown Pub — they sit opposite each other on the main street, it's all very quaint — and The Last Post of an evening, all of which house fireplaces, hearty dishes and lots of booze. And you'll need all of these things if you do or don't decide to go skiing up at Mt Hutt. You are? A shuttle picks up skiers from most hotels each morning (no need to book) and will bring you back down in the afternoon. Just be warned: the drive up is unsealed and unnerving as hell if it's your first time. Not heading up the mountain? There are plenty of walks you can do around the area, and thanks to the cooperation of local farmers, some of them pass through some very pretty private land. Just don't forget your beanie. Stay: Ski Time Lodge, 39 Racecourse Road, Methven, skitime.co.nz Lake Tekapo When you've had enough of skiing (or sitting by the fire in the pub), it's onward to Lake Tekapo. If you haven't seen photos of Tekapo, refrain from doing so before your trip — it'll make your first sighting even better. The water in this lake is the bluest of blue, so much so that I'd be inclined to say it was magic if someone didn't tell me that it comes from the reflective rock flour that gets ground into the lake by the glacier that feeds it. Whatever the reason though, this place has snow-topped mountains bordering the lake and the adorable Church of the Good Shepherd sitting on it's shores, and it's stunning. In winter it's covered in a blanket of snow, and later in the year it's blooming with lupins — you really can't lose. Spend a day or two hiking up Mt John, stargazing, bathing in the hot pools or sipping wine by the fire. Have a look at our Tekapo itinerary for deets. Stay: Peppers Bluewater Resort, State Highway 8, Lake Tekapo, peppers.co.nz/bluewater or the YHA Lake Tekapo for some great indoor views of the lake, 3 Simpson Lane, Lake Tekapo, yha.co.nz Mount Cook In a country full of really big mountains, you know that the biggest one of the lot of going to be massive. So, yes, Mount Cook (also known as Aoraki) is really, really big. If you know what you're looking at you can even see it from Tekapo, but it's worth getting up close. Take State Highway 8 and stop along the banks of Lake Pukaki — it's even bigger than Tekapo and there's a salmon shop with some incredibly fresh smoked salmon that comes straight from the salmon farms that are dotted around Canterbury's canals. (Just make sure you get at least two servings because that stuff is seriously good.) From there you head around the blue oasis of Pukaki and up towards Mount Cook. The township is tiny, but there's plenty of accommodation as plenty of people come here to hike and do heli-skiing and other adventurous things. So unless you're an experienced hiker, you won't be climbing to the summit of this big boy, but there's a whole heap of walks you can do, whether you want to be walking for an hour or a whole day. It's best to drive up to the car park of Aoraki/Mount Cook National Reserve and take it from there; you'll get some sweet views from Kea Point and the Hooker River swing bridge without even having to venture too far. Christchurch Round off your road trip by heading back to Christchurch. It's the longest stretch at about four hours, but it will be a welcome excuse to stay stationary if there's been hiking involved. If you do have an extra day or two in the city and want to get a feel of the Canterbury Plains, take a drive out to Arthur's Pass — it's one of the most scenic you can do. Or else, book yourself in for jetboating (it's something of a national pastime here) on the Waimak Gorge or four wheel driving over Mt Torlesse Station through Alpine Safaris. Both give you some killer views that you wouldn't be able to get without their help.
He captured imaginations and made his artistic mark with big-screen hits like The Royal Tenenbaums, Moonrise Kingdom and The Grand Budapest Hotel. And, he once designed a Milan cafe that resembled one of his film sets. Earlier this year, he also released his gorgeous stop-motion animated movie Isle of Dogs — but that's not all that acclaimed director Wes Anderson has for fans in 2018. Known for his visual distinctive style and fondness for symmetry, Anderson has also taken his creative vision into the art world, playing museum curator alongside his partner, set designer and illustrator Juman Malouf. As announced back in February, the pair have been invited to put together an exhibition for Vienna's Kunsthistorisches Museum, which you've got to admit looks like it's been plucked from a dreamy Anderson flick itself. Called Spitzmaus Mummy in a Coffin and Other Treasures, the exhibition is set to kick off on Tuesday, November 6, 2018 and run until April 28, 2019. The creative couple were given a task that plenty would envy: trawling through the Kunsthistorisches Museum's more than four million objects, and selecting their favourites from the incredibly broad collection of in-house artifacts. The end result includes items from all 14 of the museum's collections, which span old master paintings, Greek and Roman antiquities, Imperial coins and more. Pieces like historical musical instruments, suits of armour, foreign antiques, carriages and sleighs will be accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue — sure to be a swoon-worthy piece of art in its own right. And if you're not planning to be in Austria while it's on, maybe start thinking about heading to Italy. After its initial Kunsthistorisches run, the exhibition will travel to the Fondazione Prada in Milan at a yet-to-be-announced date. Here's a sneak peak of what's in store. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vTQI6Vw5nY Image: Wes Anderson and Juman Malouf in the Picture Gallery, Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna © KHM-Museumsverband .
Take a must-visit Paris art museum, an acclaimed Victorian gallery, an iconic French painter and one of the world's most influential architects, mix them all together, and Australia's latest huge exhibition is the end result. So is something unsurprisingly stunning: the world premiere of Pierre Bonnard: Designed by India Mahdavi at the NGV International in Melbourne. The National Gallery of Victoria's revolving door of blockbuster exhibitions shows no sign of slowing, with this exceptional meeting of creative minds announced earlier in 2023, and now gracing its halls from Friday, June 9–Sunday, October 8. When the temperature dips each year, the Melbourne Winter Masterpieces series kicks in — and, as created in collaboration with the Musée d'Orsay, home to the world's largest collection of Bonnard works, this ode to Bonnard and Mahdavi is the current centrepiece. On display: more than 100 pieces by the famed French artist, but seen through a fresh lens. Helping provide that new perspective is scenography by internationally renowned architect and designer Mahdavi, in a major showcase that was originally slated to debut in 2020 before the pandemic did its thing. An icon of late 19th- and early 20th-century art, and a good mate of Henri Matisse, Bonnard is known for his colourful, textural depictions of French life, offering stylised yet subtle glimpses of intimate domestic scenes, urban backdrops and natural landscapes. Pierre Bonnard: Designed by India Mahdavi includes a hefty collection of the artist's own paintings, drawings, photographs, prints and other decorative objects, alongside works from his contemporaries — including Édouard Vuillard, Maurice Denis, Félix Vallotton and cinematic pioneers the Lumière brothers. Attendees can expect to step through Bonnard's early artistic days in the 1890s, highlighting his focus on Parisian street life; his evolution from there, including when he started focusing on more domestic scenes as inspired by his relationship with his companion Marthe Bonnard; and his love of landscape, especially from 1910 onwards, and as influenced by his fellow pal Claude Monet. Numerous pieces are on loan from the Musée d'Orsay, as well as other museums and private collections in Europe, Australia and the USA. The NGV's own collection also includes significant works, however, including Bonnard's 1900 painting La Sieste (Siesta). Considered one of the world's most influential architects, multi-award-winning Mahdavi has been commissioned to help bring the historic pieces to life via her scenography, tasked with creating a setting that complements Bonnard's signature use of colour and light. The results aren't just spectacular — they're dreamy. "Monsieur Bonnard and I share the same passion: colour," Mahdavi explains of the exhibition. "I love his subjective perception of colour — the way he transforms the intimacy of everyday life into something sublime." "Pierre Bonnard is one of the most captivating artists of the post-impressionist movement. This exhibition offers a rare opportunity to experience his work within a vivid scenography designed by India Mahdavi, one of the world's leading designers working today. Both the artist and the designer are celebrated for their ingenious use of colour, which made them a natural and authentic pairing for this NGV-exclusive exhibition," adds Tony Ellwood AM, the NGV's director. Pierre Bonnard: Designed by India Mahdavi runs at the NGV International, St Kilda Road, Melbourne from Friday, June 9–Sunday, October 8. For more information, see the venue's website. Images: Installation view of Pierre Bonnard: Designed by India Mahdavi, on display from June 9–October 8, 2023 at NGV International, Melbourne. Photos: Lillie Thompson.
When The Favourite took a chapter of 18th-century history, filtered it through a witty and twisted sense of humour, and brought it all to life with lavish sets, luxurious costuming and a high-profile cast, it instantly attracted attention — and became one of the best films of 2018. Now, The Great is here to roll out the same format on the small screen, this time swapping English royalty for a famed Russian empress. And, sporting savage, satirical humour in spades, it works just as well. The moniker 'the Great' has popped up plenty of times in Russian history; however there's no doubting who it refers to in this instance: Catherine, formerly Princess Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg of Prussia. As played by Elle Fanning (The Neon Demon, Mary Shelley, Galveston), she hasn't yet ascended to greatness when The Great begins. But, by the time the show's first episode finishes, she's firmly plotting her path. Sent to Russia to marry reigning emperor Peter III (The Favourite and True History of the Kelly Gang's Nicholas Hoult) and solve her family's money troubles, the educated and idealistic Catherine arrives in her new homeland with a romantic vision of life, her nuptials, her place in the kingdom and her adopted country in general — especially its treatment of women. Alas, instead of marital bliss and being regarded as an equal, she's soon betrothed to a vain, arrogant, brattish ruler who'd rather binge-drink vodka, shoot bears, throw parties and start wars to prove his manliness than spend any real time with his new wife. He's also the kind of guy who describes himself as possessing "a gentle heart and massive cock", then pauses to make sure his ever-present entourage of ass-kissing noblemen furnish him with praise and laughs. It's no wonder, then, that when Catherine describes her hopes and dreams for a tender and ecstatic wedding night, her caustic but loyal maid Marial (The Aeronauts' Phoebe Fox) only barely manages not to roll her eyes. The reality of the royal couple's first evening together is definitely no one's fantasy, with Peter thrusting away while he chats to his best friend Grigor (Bohemian Rhapsody and Top End Wedding's Gwilym Lee) about shooting ducks. Created and written by The Favourite's Oscar-nominated, BAFTA-winning co-scribe Tony McNamara — and based on the Australian playwright, screenwriter and director's 2008 Sydney Theatre Company stage production of the same name — The Great serves up acerbic laughs from the outset, and doesn't let the mood drop. That means sharp, sly and thoroughly self-aware dialogue, an irreverent and cheeky tone, and having ample fun with real-life details. Indeed, The Great's title card notes upfront that the show tells "an occasionally true story". The broad strokes of Catherine's life remain in place, including her progressive plans for Russia and her quest to topple her husband in a coup; however slavish devotion to history is far, far less important than dark comedy, laugh-out-loud lines, a willingness to get silly and viewing Imperial Russia as a farce. Entertaining, engaging and very easy to binge, The Great also benefits from pitch-perfect casting. In her first comedic role, Fanning is equally luminous, intelligent and calculating, especially when she's scheming her way to the top. But, while the series isn't called Peter III (or "no Peter the Great", as he's dubbed in one episode), Hoult constantly steals the show as the demanding and impetuous frat boy emperor. Also deserving attention: the delightfully sarcastic Fox, Lodge 49's Adam Godley as the manic Archbishop, Hoult's fellow Skins alum Sebastian de Souza as Catherine's approved lover, Iron Fist's Sacha Dhawan as her chief co-conspirator and Australian actress Belinda Bromilow as Peter's offbeat aunt. Check out the trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5vLgpdXz0g All ten episodes of The Great's first season are available to stream via Stan in Australia and NeonTV in New Zealand. Top image: Ollie Upton, Hulu
Imagine a fully immersive theatre experience with a choose-your-own-adventure twist and lots of macabre nods to Edgar Allan Poe, and you'll have some idea of what to expect when A Midnight Visit takes over an abandoned Sydney warehouse later this year. Unlike any theatre offering the city has seen before, this captivating experience is part performance, part playground and part film set. And it's being brought to life across 30 rooms of an eerie, two-storey, 3500-square-metre Newtown warehouse before it's demolished to make way for apartments. Audiences will find themselves transported into a dream world that takes its cues from those notoriously macabre works of Edgar Allan Poe, as imagined by a team of local actors and a crew of innovative sound, film-set and costume designers. Expect an air of David Lynch and some Stanley Kubrick vibes, with a spot of steam-punk thrown in for good measure. "The experience explores themes of madness, guilt, death, impermanence and memory — just the small things in life," explains director and co-creator Danielle Harvey. "It's sometimes funny, sometimes sexy, sometimes wistful, and yes, sometimes a bit scary." It won't be for the faint-hearted, with hints to uneven floors, suffocatingly small spaced and many 'troubled characters'. If you're thinking you might need some sort of tipple to calm your nerves before all of that, or after, you'll find yourself in good hands at The Ravens Rest pop-up bar, curated by Studio Neon. A Midnight Visit will run from October 3 until December 9, at 655 King Street Newtown. Tickets are $45, available here. Preview performances from September 19 will also be available for $25.
For seven decades, Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama has been brightening up galleries around the globe with her dot-filled art work — and bringing smiles to art lover's faces in the process. Come October 1, she'll not only be doing just that; she'll also have her own museum dedicated to her lively geometric designs. Expect circles galore, colour aplenty and pumpkins. Slated to open in Tokyo's Shinjuku, the new facility will become a permanent celebration and showcase of the 88-year-old's inimitable pieces, spreading the vibrant joy across five storeys. According to The Japanese Times, the Yayoi Kusama Museum will feature a collection of her art, including her immersive installations, plus documents and related material. Launching with the inaugural exhibition Creation is a Solitary Pursuit, Love is What Brings You Closer to Art from October 1, 2017 to February 25, 2018, it will host two per year, as well as regular lectures. In what's proving to be a great time to surround yourself with Kusama's art, the news comes in the lead up to her next Australian exhibition, Yayoi Kusama: Life is the Heart of a Rainbow, which heads to Brisbane for four months from November. Kusama fanatics (aka everyone) in the vicinity of Japan rather than Brissie can snap up advance tickets to the Tokyo museum from August 28, for a cost of 1000 yen (around AUD$11). The site will run year-round, opening Thursday to Sunday across a series of staggered entry times. Via The Japan Times. Image: Yayoi Kusama in front of Life is the Heart of a Rainbow (2017) ©YAYOI KUSAMA, Courtesy of Ota Fine Arts, Tokyo/Singapore, Victoria Miro, London, David Zwirner, New York
The place: earth in the near future. The situation: a frozen planet chilling at a frosty -119 degrees celsius, as caused by humanity's attempts to combat climate change. The only solution: a constantly hurtling 1001-car train that plays host to the world's only remaining people. But, instead of banding together on the speeding locomotive, the residents of Snowpiercer have transported society's class structure into the carriages of their new home. That's the story that drives Snowpiercer — on both the big screen and on TV. First came Bong Joon-ho's 2013 film, which marked the acclaimed South Korean writer/director's first English-language film, and one of the movies that brought him to broader fame before Netflix's Okja and 2019's Cannes Palme d'Or-winning and Oscar-winning Parasite. Then, unsurprisingly, came a US-made television series, which was first announced back in 2016, and then finally started speeding across screens — including Down Under, where it's available via Netflix — from May 2020. In both forms, Snowpiercer boasts a smart, immersive and all-too-timely concept — and unpacks its underlying idea in a thrilling and involving manner. While the TV version isn't as stellar as Bong's film (because, honestly, how could it be?), it takes the same dystopian concept, heightens the suspense and drama, and serves up both a class warfare-fuelled survivalist thriller and a murder-mystery. Think constant twists, reveals and reversals, cliffhangers at the end of almost every scene, and a 'Murder on the Snowpiercer Express' kind of vibe. Indeed, it's very addictive — and, ahead of its season two premiere on Tuesday, January 26 on Netflix, the streaming platform has dropped the full trailer for the show's next batch of episodes Once again, Hamilton's Tony Award-winning Daveed Diggs leads the charge, playing an ex-detective who has spent seven years in the tail end of the train and is dedicated to overthrowing the status quo to achieve equality for all. Also aboard is Jennifer Connelly as the engine's all-seeing, ever-present head of hospitality, with the likes of Frances Ha's Mickey Sumner, Slender Man's Annalise Basso and The Americans' Alison Wright all part of Snowpiercer's new world order as well. And, as first teased last year, Snowpiercer's existing cast are all facing a significant change in the second season. They're about to meet a new adversary, as played by none other than Game of Thrones' Sean Bean. Just how long he'll survive in his latest role is something you can start pondering right now. Watch the full Snowpiercer season two trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yZatBxIqVk Snowpiercer's second season will hit Netflix Down Under from Tuesday, January 26 — dropping new episodes weekly. Top image: David Bukach.
If there was ever a film that made you wish you could step right into its frames, it's Wet Hot American Summer. The cult hit from 2001 took a satirical look at the American coming-of-age ritual that is heading off to summer camp, complete with Paul Rudd, Amy Poehler, Bradley Cooper, Elizabeth Banks, Molly Shannon and Michael Showalter along for the fun. And, while it wasn't the biggest money earner, its enduring popularity caused Netflix to fund both a prequel and a sequel series. Now, the eager folks at Devastator Press! want to help make all of our dreams a reality. No, they're not hosting a real-life summer camp, sorry (but Brisbane's Death Valley Fun Camp is doing a pretty good job, though, and Camp Kidinyou did the same thing in Melbourne late in 2016). Instead, they're turning WHAS into a role-playing game that'll ensure film and TV fans can play along as a camper, counselor or staffer at Camp Firewood — while wearing cutoffs and drinking beer, obviously. Even if tabletop role-playing games aren't normally your thing, we're betting you'd try out Wet Hot American Summer: Fantasy Camp; it's designed for newcomers to the genre, with "more emphasis on storytelling and party game craziness". At the time of writing, the game's makers have taken to Kickstarter to crowdfund their efforts. After just four days, the campaign has made US$10,802 of its US$12,500 goal, so it's pretty likely that it'll happen. Yes, basically one of the film's biggest fans is turning his favourite flick into a game, but it has the official tick of approval, and we all get to reap the benefits. Until you can get your own copy — they're expected to begin shipping in August — spend your time thinking about playing as a can of mixed vegetables. And as for that sequel series we mentioned earlier, Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later is due to drop on Netflix later this year.
Much to the delight of Adelaide residents, the South Australian capital scored a huge new two-day music festival in 2022. Actually, Harvest Rock wasn't just about tunes. It was about food as well, and also wine given the location. And it went big, thanks to an Aussie-exclusive show by Jack White, plus The Black Crowes, Khruangbin, Groove Armada, Kurt Vile & The Violators, The Lumineers and Hot Chip also on the bill. That was last year's huge news, as 15,000 attendees per day enjoyed. In 2023, the festival will return for another weekend of music, bites and beverages at Rymill Park / Murlawirrapurka and King Rodney Park / Ityamai-itpina, Adelaide, on Saturday, October 28–Sunday, October 29. For folks in Adelaide, you've got another reason to make your interstate mates envious. For everyone outside of the City of Churches, you clearly have an excuse to visit. The 2023 lineup doesn't drop until Wednesday, August 2, but here's hoping that it's as impressive as Harvest Rock's first event. 2022's fest also featured Crowded House, The Avalanches, Courtney Barnett, You Am I and Tones And I. Dubbed Harvest Rock II, the returning spring fest mightn't have any musicians to reveal as yet, but it has confirmed some of the other parts of the event — including the dedicated VIP Village and Harvest Lounge if you want the luxe treatment. The festival's most decadent ticketing options, if you can afford them in these hefty cost-of-living times, feature a private suite looking out onto the Harvest stage, your own concierge, curated food, and even a personal cocktail bar and private balcony. If your budget doesn't stretch that far, you'll find Adelaide's top restaurants and eateries serving up food at the Feastiville precinct. And at onsite eatery Wildwood, arkhé's chef and co-owner Jake Kellie will be leading the show again. The culinary-focused Hello Chef stage will feature live demonstrations with chefs and mixologists, plus talents from the music lineup. Plus, wine lovers can enjoy a taste of South Australia's wine regions, and order bottles for home, at the Harvest Rock II cellar door. Harvest Rock II will also boast a wellness centre called The Grape Escape, aka your go-to for hot chai, tarot readings and massages. And, there's mini festival Little Harvest for kids, which'll do arts and craft, circus workshops, hula hooping and glitter tattoos. The festival hails from Secret Sounds, the crew behind Splendour in the Grass, and is locked in for a 2023 return because 2022's event was such a success. "After a ripping debut in 2022 we are returning for our second year and are damn excited to welcome you back for a weekend of incredible music, food, wine and good times at Harvest Rock II. We're set to make this year's festival even more epic. Let's make Harvest Rock II a year to remember," said Secret Sounds co-CEO Jessica Ducrou. Harvest Rock 2023 will take at Rymill Park / Murlawirrapurka and King Rodney Park / Ityamai-itpina, Adelaide, on Saturday, October 28–Sunday, October 29, 2023. The lineup will drop on Wednesday, August 2 — head back here then. Feeling inspired to book a getaway? You can now book your next dream holiday through Concrete Playground Trips with deals on flights, stays and experiences at destinations all around the world.
Here's one of the greatest double features that you can stream right now: Emma Stone and Greek Weird Wave director Yorgos Lanthimos teaming up on 2018's ace The Favourite, then the duo working their combined magic again in 2023's Poor Things. The best film of last year is still screening in picture palaces; however, it's also hitting Disney+ on Thursday, March 7 so that you can soak up its delights at home. If you're wondering why this riff on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is dancing like it's never danced before into your streaming queue right now, you have the Oscars to thank. Hollywood's night of nights takes place on Monday, March 11 Down Under, with Poor Things collecting 11 nominations — coming second only to Oppenheimer. So, you can either rewatch or finally catch up with the awards contender, which is up for the big gongs such as Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress for Stone and Best Supporting Actor for Mark Ruffalo. Poor Things is also in the running for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Original Score and Best Production Design. Even if it doesn't emerge victorious in all or even most fields, it's going to get plenty of attention at the Oscars whenever these categories come up. Poor Things doesn't actually use the f-word — Frankenstein, that is — but Stone is clearly playing a version of Frankenstein's monster. The film adapts Alasdair Grey's 1992 award-winning novel, with the parallels with Shelley's mother-of-all horror greats as obvious as a bolt of lightning. The focus: Bella Baxter, a woman resurrected by an unorthodox scientist, distinctive in her mannerisms afterwards and eager to learn about a world that isn't quite sure how to react. Continuing the movie's top-notch casting — and Lanthimos' in general, as seen in everything from Dogtooth and Alps to The Lobster and The Killing of a Sacred Deer as well — Poor Things boasts Willem Dafoe (Asteroid City) as the tinkering Dr Godwin Baxter; Ruffalo (She-Hulk: Attorney at Law) as Duncan Wedderburn, a slick lawyer that Bella runs off with; and also Ramy's Ramy Youssef, plus On the Count of Three co-stars Jerrod Carmichael and Christopher Abbott. It features just one of Stone's two stunning 2023 performances, too, with the end of the year seeing her turn in exceptional work in both this and TV's The Curse. She'd been away from the screen for a short stint beforehand; Cruella released in 2021, and only The Croods: A New Age, Zombieland: Double Tap and TV's Maniac also sat on her resume after The Favourite. Check out the full trailer for Poor Things below: Poor Things is still showing in cinemas, and streams via Disney+ from Thursday, March 7. Read our review. Images: courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2023 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved.
Having already been more successful in one career than most of us will, let's face it, ever be at any, Tavi Gevinson is about to extend her foray into a second: acting. The 17-year-old Rookie editor-in-chief is set to make her Broadway stage debut later this year in Kenneth Lonergan's comedy-drama This Is Our Youth alongside Michael Cera and Kieran Culkin. Cera and Culkin have played the same roles in a previous production, which played at the Sydney Opera House in 2012, when audiences flocked to see whether Cera could break the George Michael mould (a goal he finally achieved slapping Rihanna's bottom in This Is the End). The play falls firmly into the 'bored, disaffected New York youth' genre, elevated by its Reagan-era setting and a caper with cocaine and toy collection. After writing it in 1996, Lonergan went on to script Gangs of New York. Gevinson will play the character of Jessica Goldman — appropriately enough, a 17-year-old student of fashion. She's a character full of nervousness but also curiosity and hunger for experience. "I guess Jessica is often played by people who are older and have more distance from that time," Gevinson told the Chicago Tribune. "But I am living it. I really am cocksure of all my opinions, and I really do feel anxious when challenged. My issue, I think, will be having to zoom out of what I actually am experiencing." Everything Happens So Much http://t.co/ccZDEmufQf — Tavi Gevinson (@tavitulle) April 9, 2014 This production of the play will be directed by Anna D. Shapiro, the Tony Award winner who directed the super-famous August: Osage County for Steppenwolf Theatre Company. It will make its premiere at Steppenwolf's Chicago theatre before moving to Broadway in September. Gevinson, who also had a role in the 2013 film Enough Said, will miss her last couple of weeks of high school in order to appear in the play. A genius move if ever there was one.
Mildura has been a magnet for artists for more than sixty years. So, even though international touring artists don't always make it to Australia's outback towns, it's no surprise that Lenny Kravitz is doing the honours. On 28 November, he'll take over the Mildura Sporting Precinct with his Blue Electric Light Tour, hot from London, Paris and Berlin. Skip the massive crowds in Sydney and Melbourne, and catch the legend with just a few thousand avid fans. You can expect classic hits like 'Are You Gonna Go My Way?', 'Fly Away' and 'It Ain't Over Till it's Over', as well as tunes from Kravitz's new album, Blue Electric Light. As he has for decades, Kravitz is still winning crowds with his catchy hooks, high energy and undeniable charisma. While you're in Mildura, go exploring with our weekender's guide. There's a lot to see and do – from Bruce Munro's dreamy, contemplative Trail of Lights to cruising on a 19th century paddle steamer to wine tasting on the banks of the Murray River.
High-concept cocktails, leather booths and a distinctly horny vibe are the modus operandi at play in Pleasure Club. You'll find the bar-meets-live music venue and performance space down a long flight of stairs on Wilson Street in Newtown. The vibe of Pleasure Club is an anything-can-happen horny hedonism. A glowing purple eye greets you at the street-level entrance, hinting at the layers of violet hues contained within. Otherworldly decor and stage design are tone-setters for the entertainment program, which is be a true mixed bag of live music, performance art and audience interaction (including what the venue refers to as Dark Service around the 11pm mark). But this is a bar first and foremost and the drinks list is pretty unreal. For the venue's launch, Creative Beverage Lead Sam Kirk collaborated with booze whisperer Matt Whiley (of Re) on a cocktail series dubbed 'Nostalgia Machine' which included a number called the 'Cheese TV' a Coco Pops-infused version of an old fashioned that throws you back to your days of watching morning cartoons. Other more radical creations on the menu include the Chicken Parm, a real one-of-a-kind experience made with vodka, comte cheese, bacon, tomato and chicken salt. We liken it to a chilled alcohol-laced cheese and chicken soup. Do with that information what you will. The drinks are accompanied by a simple menu of good hot dogs that pair surprisingly well with the cocktails. Sydney has jumped on the 'dog train, taking inspiration from other sausage-loving cities like Copenhagen and Berlin. Loaded dogs have been popping up at increasingly cool and high end locations whether it's Love, Tilly Devine's Scandi snacks or Rockpool's happy hour chorizo dog. Pleasure Club's late-night snacks are just as impressive, loading up LP's franks on potato buns with fries, mustard and sauerkraut. But it's generally just a standout spot to grab a drink and hang out. While the signature cocktails may be a little out of your comfort zone, there's a huge wall of spirits and a team of bartenders more than happy to whip up a perfect negroni or amaretto sour. And, there's a pool table in the corner so you can hit the felt with an impressive bev in hand. Sydney could definitely do with more cocktail bars with pool tables.
Looking to brighten up your Monday? Mt Lewis Pizzeria in Bankstown and Hurstville is serving $1 za'atar manoush pizzas every Monday from Monday, June 30. The much-loved Middle Eastern pizza joint has become Sydney's go-to destination for authentic manoush, serving tasty pizzas from recipes passed down through generations. Combining traditional flavours with a cosy, modern setting, the pizzeria brings the spirit of Lebanon to Sydney. Usually enjoyed for breakfast, manoush is an authentic Lebanese flatbread-style pizza made combining za'atar spice and olive oil. The za'atar topping is a delicious blend of herbs including thyme and oregano. On top, toasted sesame seeds and sumac add the perfect subtle crunch. Enjoy it on its own or topped with fresh vegetables, labneh yogurt or melted cheese. Already salivating? We don't blame you. All you have to do is find $1 lying around and head into Mt Lewis Pizzeria in Bankstown or South Hurstville. Grab a manoush for a cheeky breakfast, lunch or snack anytime between opening and closing, which is 5am–4pm at Bankstown and 6am–6pm at Hurstville. $1 manoush is limited to three per customer. For the full menu, visit the Mt Lewis Pizzeria website. Images: Supplied.
2023 marks 65 years since Australia's film and television industry first started recognising its best work of the year with accolades. Back then, the gongs were called the AFI Awards. When the Australian Film Institute created the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts in 2011, the awards changed names to the AACTAs. The country's standout flicks and TV highlights are still rewarded with shiny trophies, though — and, since making the switch in monikers in 2012, the big winners paint quite the picture of Australia's screen output. Red Dog, The Sapphires, The Great Gatsby, The Babadook, The Water Diviner, Mad Max: Fury Road, Hacksaw Ridge, Lion, Sweet Country, The Nightingale, Babyteeth, Nitram and Elvis have all been anointed Australia's top movie. Among the small-screen recipients, Best Drama has gone to East West 101, Puberty Blues, Redfern Now, The Code, Glitch, Wentworth, Top of the Lake: China Girl, Mystery Road, Total Control, The Newsreader and Mystery Road: Origin. They all now have company, with the 2024 awards looking back on 2023's highlights announced on Saturday, February 10. Talk to Me was named Best Film, while The Newsreader claimed Best Drama again. The AACTAs are known to concentrate the love towards a few titles each year. 2024 is different, however. The list of winners goes on, and makes an ace must-see lineup of top-notch Aussie movies and TV shows to catch up on or revisit from the past year. Here's 13 that you can watch now: Movie Must-Sees Talk to Me An embalmed hand can't click its fingers, not even when it's the spirit-conducing appendage at the heart of Talk to Me. This is an absolute finger snap of a horror film, however, and a fist pump of a debut by Australian twins Danny and Michael Philippou. As RackaRacka, the Adelaide-born pair have racked up six-million-plus subscribers on YouTube via viral comedy, horror and action combos. As feature filmmakers, they're just as energetic, eager and assured, not to mention intense about giving their all. Talk to Me opens with a party that's soon blighted by both a stabbing and a suicide. It segues swiftly into a Sia sing-along, then the violent loss of one half of the Aussie coat of arms. A breakout hit at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, where it sparked a distribution bidding war won by indie favourite A24, it's constantly clicking, snapping and ensuring that viewers are paying attention — with terror-inducing imagery, a savvy sense of humour, both nerve and the keenness to unnerve, and a helluva scary-movie premise that's exceptionally well-executed. The picture's outstretched mitt is the Philippous' Ouija board. That withered and scribbled-on paw is also a wildly unconventional way to get high. In a screenplay penned by Danny with fellow first-timer Bill Hinzman, but based on Bluey and Content executive producer Daley Pearson's short-film concept — yes, that Bluey — shaking hands with the distinctive meat hook is a party trick and dare as well. When the living are palm to palm with this dead duke, in flows a conjuring. A candle is lit, "talk to me" must be uttered, then "I let you in". Once heads are kicking back and the voices start, no one should grasp on for more than 90 seconds, as Hayley (Zoe Terakes, Nine Perfect Strangers) and Joss (Chris Alosio, Millie Lies Low) explain. But, as she navigates the anniversary of her mother's death, Mia (Sophie Wilde, Boy Swallows Universe) is up for going as far as she can. Here, being consumed by sinister spirits, not consuming booze, is an escape. That, and filming whatever twisted chaos happens when you connect with the otherworldly. It isn't all fun and frights and games, though; when her best friend Jade's (Alexandra Jensen, Joe vs Carole) 14-year-old brother Riley (Joe Bird, First Day) takes part, traumatic consequences spring. AACTAs Won: Best Film, Best Direction (Danny and Michael Philippou), Best Lead Actress (Sophie Wilde), Best Editing, Best Hair and Makeup, Best Original Score, Best Screenplay, Best Sound. Where to watch it: Talk to Me streams via Netflix, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review, and our interview with Danny Philippou. Limbo When Ivan Sen sent a police detective chasing a murdered girl and a missing woman in the Australian outback in 2013's Mystery Road and its 2016 sequel Goldstone, he saw the country's dusty, rust-hued expanse in sun-bleached and eye-scorching colour. In the process, the writer, director, co-producer, cinematographer, editor and composer used his first two Aussie noir films and their immaculately shot sights to call attention to how the nation treats people of colour — historically since its colonial days and still now well over two centuries later. Seven years after the last Jay Swan movie, following a period that's seen that character make the leap to the small screen in three television seasons, Sen returned with a disappearance, a cop, all that inimitable terrain and the crimes against its Indigenous inhabitants that nothing can hide. Amid evident similarities, there's a plethora of differences between the Mystery Road franchise and Limbo; however, one of its simplest is also one of its most glaring and powerful: shooting Australia's ochre-toned landscape in black and white. Limbo's setting: Coober Pedy, the globally famous "opal capital of the world" that's known for its underground dwellings beneath the blazing South Australian earth, but reimagined as the fictional locale that shares the film's name — a place unmistakably sporting an otherworldly topography dotted by dugouts to avoid the baking heat, and that hasn't been able to overcome the murder of a local Indigenous girl two decades earlier. The title is symbolic several times over, including to the visiting Travis Hurley (Simon Baker, Boy Swallows Universe), whose first task upon arrival is checking into his subterranean hotel, rolling up his sleeves and indulging his heroin addiction. Later, he'll be told that he looks more like a drug dealer than a police officer — but, long before then, it's obvious that his line of work and the sorrows he surveys along the way have kept him hovering in a void. While he'll also unburden a few biographical details about mistakes made and regrets held before the film comes to an end, such as while talking to the missing Charlotte Hayes' brother Charlie (Rob Collins, The Drover's Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson) and sister Emma (Natasha Wanganeen, The Survival of Kindness), this tattooed cop with wings inked onto his back is already in limbo before he's literally in Limbo talking. AACTAs Won: Best Indie Film. Where to watch it: Limbo streams via iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review, and our interview with Ivan Sen and Simon Baker. The New Boy Warwick Thornton, Cate Blanchett, Deborah Mailman, Nick Cave and Warren Ellis: name a better Australian quintet. The director of Samson & Delilah and Sweet Country, the two-time Oscar-winner and Tár tour de force, the local screen mainstay, and the Bad Seeds bandmates and seasoned film composers all combine not for the ultimate Aussie dinner party, but for The New Boy. None are debuting in their jobs. All are exceptional. They're each made better, however, by the luminous and entrancing Aswan Reid. As well as playing the titular part, the 11-year-old first-time actor lives it among such a wealth of acclaimed and experienced talent — and he's such a find in such excellent company, while saying little in words but everything in every other way, that Thornton's third fictional feature owes him as much of a debt as its applauded and awarded household names. There's a spark to Reid from the moment that he's first spied grappling with outback law enforcement under blazing rays as Cave and Ellis' (This Much I Know to Be True) latest rousing score plays. His sun-bleached hair couldn't be more fitting, or symbolic, but it's the confident way in which he holds himself as New Boy, plus the determined look on his face, that sears. Wily and wiry, the feature's eponymous figure is toppled by a boomerang, then bagged up and transported to the remote Catholic orphanage doted on by Sister Eileen (Blanchett, Nightmare Alley) in the 1940s. The cop doing the escorting notes that the kid is a bolter, but the nun is just as fast in her kindness. She sees what Thornton wants his audience to see: a boy that beams with his presence and through his sense of self, even though he's been snatched up, taken from his Country and forced into a Christian institution against his will. Sister Eileen is as drawn to him as the movie, but — and not just due to the red wine she likes sipping and the subterfuge she's keeping up about the resident father's absence — she isn't as certain about what to do. AACTAs Won: Best Lead Actor in Film (Aswan Reid), Best Supporting Actress (Deborah Mailman), Best Cinematography, Best Production Design. Where to watch it: The New Boy streams via Binge, Prime Video, YouTube Movies and iTunes. Read our full review, and our interview with Warwick Thornton. John Farnham: Finding the Voice There's no need to try to understand it: John Farnham's 1986 anthem 'You're the Voice' is an instant barnstormer of a tune. An earworm then, now and for eternity, it was the Australian song of the 80s. With its layered beats, swelling force and rousing emotion, all recorded in a garage studio, it's as much of a delight when it's soundtracking comedy films like the Andy Samberg-starring Hot Rod and the Steve Coogan-led Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa as it is echoing out of every Aussie pub's jukebox. Making a noise and making it clear, 'You're the Voice' is also one of the reasons that Farnham's 1986 album Whispering Jack remains the best-selling homegrown release ever nearing four decades since it first dropped. But, as John Farnham: Finding the Voice tells, this iconic match of track and talent — this career-catapulting hit for a singer who'd initially tasted fame as a teen pop idol two decades prior — almost didn't happen. Whispering Jack also almost didn't come to fruition at all, a revelation so immense that imagining Australia without that album is like entering Back to the Future Part II's alternative 80s. Writer/director Poppy Stockwell (Scrum, Nepal Quake: Terror on Everest) and her co-scribe Paul Clarke (a co-creator of Spicks and Specks) know this, smartly dedicating a significant portion of Finding the Voice to that record and its first single. The titbits and behind-the-scenes anecdotes flow, giving context to a song almost every Aussie alive since it arrived knows in their bones. Gaynor Wheatley, the wife of Farnham's late best friend and manager Glenn, talks about how they mortgaged their house to fund the release when no label would touch the former 'Sadie (The Cleaning Lady)' crooner. Chris Thompson, the English-born, New Zealand-raised Manfred Mann's Earth Band musician who co-penned 'You're the Voice', chats about initially declining Farnham's request to turn the tune into a single after the latter fell for it via a demo. AACTAs Won: Best Documentary. Where to watch it: John Farnham: Finding the Voice streams via YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. Shayda Whether or not Noora Niasari was ever explicitly told to write what she knew, the Iranian Australian filmmaker has taken that advice to heart. Her mother listened to the same guidance first, even if it was never spoken to her, either. The latter penned a memoir that has gone unpublished, but helped form the basis of the powerful and affecting Shayda. This account of a mum and her daughter attempting to start anew in a women's shelter doesn't entirely stick to the facts that writer/director Niasari and her mother lived through. The Sundance-premiering, Melbourne International Film Festival-opening, Oscars-entered feature — it was Australia's contender for Best International Feature Film at the 2024 Academy Awards, but wasn't nominated — isn't afraid to fictionalise details in search of the best screen story. Still, the tale that's told of courage, resilience, rebuilding lives and finding a new community is deeply and patently personal. Perhaps even better, it's inescapably authentic. Niasari peers back at being barely of primary-school age and making a new home. Fleeing to a women's shelter is the only option that the film's eponymous figure (Zar Amir Ebrahimi, 2022's Cannes Best Actress-winner for Holy Spider) has to get away from the abusive Hossein (Osamah Sami, Savage River), whose controlling nature is matched by that of their patriarchal culture. So, Shayda leaves with six-year-old Mona (debutant Selina Zahednia). As she waits for her divorce proceedings to go through — a complicated task under Iranian law and customs — she seeks refuge at a secret site overseen by the caring Joyce (Leah Purcell, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart). Even surrounded by kindness and filled with desperation for a better future, every iota of Shayda's decision is fraught and tense; Niasari starts the film with Mona at an airport being told what to do if she's ever there with her father, should he try to take her not only away from her mum but also back to Iran. AACTAs Won: Best Casting. Where to watch it: Shayda streams via YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review, and our interview with Noora Niasari. Carmen Breaking down a classic tale best known as an opera, rebuilding it as a lovers-on-the-run drama set across the US–Mexico border and making every moment burst with emotion, Benjamin Millepied's Carmen is a movie that moves. While its director is a feature debutant, his background as a dancer and choreographer — he did both on Black Swan, the latter on Vox Lux as well, then designed the latest Dune films' sandwalk — perhaps means that the former New York City Ballet principal and Paris Opera Ballet Director of Dance was fated to helm rhythmic, fluid and rousing cinema. His loose take on Georges Bizet's singing-driven show and Prosper Mérimée's novella before it, plus Alexander Pushkin's poem The Gypsies that the first is thought to be based on, is evocative and sensual. It's sumptuous and a swirl of feelings, too, as aided in no small part by its penchant for dance. And, it pirouettes with swoon-inducing strength with help from its stunningly cast leads: Scream queen and In the Heights star Melissa Barrera, plus Normal People breakout and Aftersun Oscar-nominee Paul Mescal. When Mescal earned the world's attention in streaming's initial Sally Rooney adaptation, he had viewers dreaming of fleeing somewhere — Ireland or anywhere — with him. Carmen's namesake (Barrera) absconds first, then has PTSD-afflicted Marine Aidan (Mescal) join her attempt to escape to Los Angeles. Carmen runs after her mother Zilah (flamenco dancer Marina Tamayo) greets the cartel with thunderous footwork, but can't stave off their violence. Aidan enters the story once Carmen is smuggled stateside, where he's a reluctant volunteer border guard in Texas alongside the trigger-happy Mike (Benedict Hardie, The Drover's Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson). As the picture's central pair soon hurtle towards California, to Zilah's lifelong friend Masilda's (Rossy de Palma, Parallel Mothers) bar, they try to fly to whatever safety and security they can find. That may be fleeting, however, and might also be in each other's arms. AACTAs Won: Best Costume Design. Where to watch it: Carmen streams via Stan, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review, and our interview with Benjamin Millepied. The Giants Nature documentaries rarely simply spy the earth's wonders, point cameras that way and let the planet itself do the talking. Instead, films such as 2017's The Ancient Woods are by far the exception rather than the rule. And yet, the best footage within any movie about our pale blue dot makes viewers wish that more favoured the "a picture is worth a thousand words" approach. Take The Giants, for instance. When it includes talk, which is often, it's no lesser a feature. The conversation and commentary offered is illuminating, in fact. But when it wanders through Tasmania's colossal foliage within the Styx Valley, Southern Forests and the Tarkine, which is also regularly, it feels like it barely needs to utter a single thing. This isn't merely a factual affair about flora, with environmental campaigner and pioneering former Greens senator Bob Brown firmly at its core, but The Giants knows that paying tribute to both is best done by staring at leafy surroundings as much as it can. It's no everyday feat to get a movie-watching audience admiring the natural world while peering at a screen, even if the frequency with which David Attenborough's docos arrive has helped everyone both think and expect otherwise. Indeed, notching up that achievement is a mammoth accomplishment on the part of The Giants' filmmakers Laurence Billiet (Freeman) and Rachel Antony, plus cinematographer Sherwin Akbarzadeh (Carbon — The Unauthorised Biography). Crucially, it assists what was always going to be a fascinating ode to bloom as much as any plant that it waters with attention. When you're crafting a documentary that intertwines a love letter to Australia's ancient native forests and their ecosystems with a powerful portrait of a hefty figure who has devoted much of his life to fighting for them, showing all the green splendour it possibly can is equally a must and a masterstroke. AACTAs Won: Best Cinematography in a Documentary. Where to watch it: The Giants streams via DocPlay, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. Ego: The Michael Gudinski Story Post-viewing soundtrack, sorted: to watch Ego: The Michael Gudinski Story is to take a trip down memory lane with the Australian music industry and hear homegrown standouts from the past five decades along the way. Unsurprisingly, this documentary already has an album to go with it, a stacked release which'd instantly do its eponymous figure proud. His tick of approval wouldn't just stem from the artists surveyed, but because Ego: The Michael Gudinski Story's accompanying tunes comprise a three-disc number like Mushroom Records' first-ever drop, a 1973 Sunbury Festival live LP. To tell the tale of Gudinski, the record executive and promoter who became a household name, is to tell of Skyhooks, Split Enz, Hunters & Collectors, Jimmy Barnes, Paul Kelly, Kylie Minogue, Archie Roach, Yothu Yindi, Bliss n Esso, The Temper Trap, Gordi and Vance Joy, too — and to listen to them. Need this on-screen tribute to give you some kind of sign that the Gudinski and Mushroom story spans a heap of genres? Both the film and the album alike include Peter Andre. Any journey through Michael Gudinski's life and career, from his childhood entrepreneurship selling car parks on his family's vacant lot to his years and years getting Aussie music to the masses — and, on the touring side, bringing massively popular overseas artists to Aussies — needs to also be an ode to the industry that he adored. The man and scene are inseparable. But perhaps Ego: The Michael Gudinski Story plays as such an overt love letter to Australian music because it's an unashamed hagiography of Gudinski. Although the movie doesn't deliver wall-to-wall praise, it comes close. When it begins to hint at any traces of arrogance, moodiness or ruthlessness, it quickly does the doco equivalent of skipping to the next track. Australian Rules and Suburban Mayhem director Paul Goldman, a seasoned hand at music videos as well, has called his feature Ego and there's no doubting his subject had one; however, the takeaway in this highly authorised biography is that anything that doesn't gleam was simply part of his natural mischievousness and eager push for success. AACTAs Won: Best Sound in a Documentary. Where to watch it: Ego: The Michael Gudinski Story streams via YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. Small-Screen Standouts Deadloch Trust Kate McCartney and Kate McLennan, Australia's favourite Kates and funniest double act, to make a killer TV show about chasing a killer that's the perfect sum of two excellent halves. Given their individual and shared backgrounds, including creating and starring in cooking show sendup The Katering Show and morning television spoof Get Krack!n, the pair unsurprisingly add another reason to get chuckling to their resumes; however, with Deadloch, they also turn their attention to crime procedurals. The Kates already know how to make viewers laugh. They've established their talents as brilliant satirists and lovers of the absurd in the process. Now, splashing around those skills in Deadloch's exceptional eight-episode first season lead by Kate Box (Stateless) and Madeleine Sami (The Breaker Upperers), they've also crafted a dead-set stellar murder-mystery series that ranks among The Kates' best work in almost every way. The only time that it doesn't? Not putting the tremendous pair on-screen themselves. Taking place in a sleepy small town, commencing with a body on a beach, and following both the local cop trying to solve the case and the gung-ho blow-in from a big city leading the enquiries, Deadloch has all the crime genre basics covered from the get-go. The Tasmanian spot scandalised by the death is a sitcom-esque quirky community, another television staple that McCartney and McLennan nail. Parody requires deep knowledge and understanding; you can't comically rip into and riff on something if you aren't familiar with its every in and out. That said, Deadloch isn't in the business of simply mining well-worn TV setups and their myriad of conventions for giggles, although it does that expertly. With whip-smart writing, the Australian series is intelligent, hilarious, and all-round cracking as a whodunnit-style noir drama and as a comedy alike — and, as Box's by-the-book Senior Sergeant Dulcie Collins and Sami's loose and chaotic Darwin blow-in Eddie Redcliffe are forced to team up, it's also one of the streaming highlights of the past year. AACTAs Won: Best Acting in a Comedy (Kate Box), Best Casting in Television, Best Editing in Television, Best Original Score in Television, Best Screenplay in Television. Where to watch it: Deadloch streams via Prime Video. Read our full review, and our interview with Kate McCartney and Kate McLennan. The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart In The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, blooms are rarely out of sight and petals never evade attention. Adapted from Holly Ringland's 2018 novel, the seven-part Australian miniseries is set on a farm that cultivates native flora. It dubs the women who tend to them, an ensemble from various backgrounds largely seeking refuge from abusive pasts, "flowers" as well. Whether stem by stem or in bunches, its characters use florets as their own secret language. And yet, as much as bouquets linger, getting all things floral on the mind, star Sigourney Weaver burns rather than blossoms. Fire is another of the show's strong recurring motifs, so it's still fitting that its biggest name is as all-consuming as a blaze. She needs to be that scorching: this is a story about endeavouring to survive while weathering woes that ignite everything in their path. Weaver also draws upon almost five decades of thriving before the camera, often playing steely, smart and sometimes-raging women. Her on-screen career began sparking with Alien, the film that made her an instant icon. Since then, everyone has heard her performances scream — and, in The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, she's again dazzling. Flowers frequently surround Weaver's June Hart far and wide. With a carefully selected cutting, the shotgun-toting matriarch of Thornfield Flower Farm can say all she needs to. That's what the eponymous Alice (Ayla Browne, Nine Perfect Strangers) quickly learns about her grandmother when she arrives at the property following a tragedy, becoming one of the farm's flowers after losing her pregnant mother Agnes (Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Hotel Mumbai) and violent father Clem (Charlie Vickers, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power). The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart is a tale about traumas, secrets and lies that lurk as deeply as the earth — about the choices and cycles that take root in such fraught soil, too. When nine-year-old Alice relocates fresh from hospital, the determined June, her doting partner Twig (Leah Purcell, The Drover's Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson) and their adopted daughter Candy Blue (Frankie Adams, The Expanse) aim to shower the girl with sunlight to blaze away her horrors. You can't just bury problems, however, then hope that something vivid and colourful will grow over the top. Dedicating its first half to Alice's childhood and its second to 14 years later, when she's in her early twenties (Alycia Debnam-Carey, Fear the Walking Dead), The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart understands this immutable fact in its core. AACTAs Won: Best Miniseries, Best Cinematography in Television, Best Production Design in Television, Best Sound in Television. Where to watch it: The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart streams via Prime Video. Read our full review. Colin From Accounts A girl, a guy and a meet-cute over an adorable animal: that's the delightful and very funny Colin From Accounts' underlying formula. When medical student Ashley (Harriet Dyer, The Invisible Man) and microbrewery owner Gordon (Patrick Brammall, Evil) cross paths in the street one otherwise standard Sydney morning, they literally come to an impasse. He lets her go first, she flashes her nipple as thanks, then he's so distracted that he hits a stray dog with his car. As these circumstances demonstrate, Colin From Accounts isn't afraid to get awkward, much to the benefit of audiences. There's a syrupy way to proceed from the show's debut moments, intertwining sparks flying with idyllic dates, plus zero doubts of a happy ending for humans and pooches alike. If this was a movie, that's how it'd happen. Then there's Dyer and Brammall's way, with the duo creating and writing the series as well as starring in it, and focusing as much on ordinary existential mayhem — working out who you want to be, navigating complex relationships and learning to appreciate the simple pleasure of someone else's company, for example — as pushing its leads together. Just like in the Hollywood versions of this kind of tale, romance does blossom. That Dyer and Brammall are behind Colin From Accounts, their past chemistry on fellow Aussie comedy No Activity and the fact that they're married IRL means that pairing them up as more than new pals was always going to be on the show's agenda. It's how the series fleshes out each character and their baggage — including those who-am-I questions, Ash's difficult dynamic with her attention-seeking mother Lynelle (Helen Thomson, Elvis), and the responsibility that running your own business and committing to care for other people each bring — that helps give it depth. Colin From Accounts lets Ash and Gordon unfurl their woes and wishes, and also lets them grow. Sometimes, that happens by peeing and pooping in the wrong place, because that's also the type of comedy this is. Sometimes, it's because the show's central couple have taken a risk, or faced their struggles, or genuinely found solace in each other. Always, this Aussie gem is breezy and weighty — and instantly bingeable. AACTAs Won: Best Narrative Comedy Series. Where to watch it: Colin From Accounts streams via Binge. Read our full review. The Newsreader Aspiring Australian actors, take note: modelling your career after Anna Torv's so far is highly recommended. She's among the lengthy list of Aussies to call The Secret Life of Us one of her launch pads (another: Joel Edgerton). For five seasons and 100 episodes, she led fantastic US sci-fi series Fringe opposite Joshua Jackson (Fatal Attraction). The Daughter and Force of Nature: The Dry 2 in cinemas, plus Secret City, Mindhunter and The Last of Us on TV: they're also on her resume, which boasts both Hollywood and homegrown standouts. In the latter category, so is The Newsreader. Debuting with a six-episode first season in 2021, returning for the same stretch in 2023 and with another half-dozen on the way in 2024, it casts Torv as Helen Norville, News at Six's first-ever female newsreader. With the show set in the 80s, that gig isn't easy as misogyny and sexism run rife in the media industry — and as major real-life events, including the Challenger explosion, the Azaria Chamberlain case, Chernobyl and the 1987 federal election, are weaved in, all requiring news coverage. Torv is unsurprisingly excellent as Helen, and also in great company. As Dale Jennings, who starts the series as a budding reporter, Sam Reid is every bit up to the task. (He'a also someone whose own filmography is impressive both at home and abroad, thanks to past parts in The Railway Man, Belle, '71, Prime Suspect 1973, Lambs of God, The Drover's Wife the Legend of Molly Johnson and the Interview with the Vampire TV series.) The Newsreader isn't just anchored by two stellar leads, however, or guided by a cast that also includes Robert Taylor (Scrublands), William McInnes (NCIS: Sydney), Michelle Lim Davidson (After the Trial), Marg Downey (Jones Family Christmas), Chum Ehelepola (Preppers) and Stephen Peacocke (Five Bedrooms). It's textured at the character level, and also enthralling in its newsroom antics and glance backwards at Australia's past. Indeed, it's no wonder that more seasons keep coming. AACTAs Won: Best Drama Series, Best Lead Actress in a Drama (Anna Torv), Best Supporting Actor in a Drama (Hunter Page-Lochard), Best Costume Design in Television, Best Direction in Drama or Comedy. Where to watch it: The Newsreader streams via ABC iView. Love Me Add Love Me to the list of Aussie dramas set in Melbourne and featuring starry casts, alongside The Secret Life of Us, Tangle and Offspring. In this one, which first arrived in 2021, then returned in 2023, the ensemble runs deep — starting with Hugo Weaving (The Royal Hotel) and Bojana Novakovic (Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)). Bob Morley (In Limbo), Celia Pacquola (Utopia), Heather Mitchell (Jones Family Christmas), William Lodder (Bali 2002) and Shalom Brune-Franklin (The Tourist) also feature. Kim Gyngell (The Artful Dodger), Eryn Jean Norvill (Preppers) and Frank Woodley (The Ex-PM) each pop up as well. Given that this is a series about a family and their complicated romantic relationships, the who's who-esque roster of familiar Aussie talent is particularly fitting. The show steps inside the Mathieson clan's amorous ups and downs, in this Aussie adaptation of Sweden's Älska mig, and with such superb casting instantly creating a sense of intimacy in an effort that marked Binge's first local series when it initially debuted. Weaving's Glenn is the father of Novakovic's Clara and Lodder's Aaron. They quickly have death to deal with, as well as love; that life is messy thrums through the series from the outset. What stands out isn't always every minute detail in the plot, as universal and relatable as the storylines are, but the folks navigating it. That, again, is a testament to such savvy casting. Of course, putting Weaving is anything is usually reason enough to press play, especially when he's in thoughtful and layered mode as an everyman grappling with the fact that existence brings pain as well as joy. Amid the scenic vision of Melbourne roved over by helmers Emma Freeman (The Newsreader) and Bonnie Moir (Foe's second-unit director), this series brings characters to the screen with deeply engaging performances that feel layered and lived-in, and worth spending time with. AACTAs Won: Best Lead Actor in a Drama (Hugo Weaving), Best Supporting Actress in a Drama (Heather Mitchell). Where to watch it: Love Me streams via Binge.
The Australian cuisine has always been mysterious, but occasionally we get a glimpse into what it might be or what it could be. Kin by Us is one those glimpses. It's an unpretentious mix of cuisines and cultures coming from My Kitchen Rules contestants Shannelle and Uel Lim. The menu reads like contrived attempt at blending pop Asian food with Australian cafe cuisine, but it's simply the food Uel and Shannelle love to eat. They both grew up overseas; Uel spent four years travelling on a ship with his missionary parents, while Shannelle is part Indonesian, part Chinese. The menu reflects the couple’s mixed cultural identities. The Waffle Belly ($17), two succulent strips of caramel soy pork belly served with slaw, shiitake mushrooms and an onsen egg atop a crunchy potato waffle, is a creative take on Uel’s memory of his Singaporean grandma. Onsen eggs, almost liquid soft poached eggs, burst somewhat pornographically onto many of the MKR couple’s dishes. Another reinvented relic from the couple’s past is the Snap Crackle Plop ($10): chicken rice and peas served under a cluster of crispy fried chicken skins and an onsen egg. Like a more textural Asian porridge, the dish is far from thrilling but inexplicably comforting. It’s one of many homages to the couple’s love for the ‘unhealthy food’ they grew up with. The brioche sandwiches, another great example, are shockingly long and generously filled. The Shandong chicken sandwich with slaw ($14) feels like eating a savoury sundae. The soft shell crab, while more delicate, is similarly intense. Uel told us the cafe’s open design was intended to reflect the mixed backgrounds and families of the two chefs, but we think it better represents the ambiguous middle line Kin sits between restaurant and cafe. The difference in detail that once separated cafes from their more serious night equivalents isn’t apparent at Kin. Like many new cafes in Sydney the fit-out and menu here are exact and inventive. Of the more classically cafe options we were most intrigued by the durian affogato ($7), a brave pairing that’s superbly executed. The durian gelato is unashamedly rich and pungent, but when doused in Rueben Hills' espresso, it mellows and adds to a balanced match. For something subtler, try the coconut cold brew ($5). In the future, the couple are planning more waffle dishes, including one with kimchi, cheese and fried chicken, and a waffle burger — yes, that’s waffle, meat, cheese, vegetable, waffle. Uel told us he’s also wants to rework something they originally called ‘breakfast’, a mysterious mix of cereal, prawns and egg. It’s an exciting future for a cafe that’s already charmed us with its effortless approach at fusion food.
Being time poor is never ideal, particularly if you're wanting to shop more consciously and support local vendors. If you've only got a small sliver of time each week to stock up on all of your essentials, but don't want to sacrifice on quality, head to Taste Organic in Enmore. Not only does the store have an extensive range of fresh produce, but it also sells other household goods — from bread, meat, eggs and dairy to cleaning products, pet food and cosmetics. It's a one-stop shop — no need to 'top up' your shop from another store necessary. Plus, as its name suggests, it's focused on organic products. All fresh produce is 100-percent certified organic, with as much as possible sourced from Aussie farms. And other items are largely sustainable, recyclable and free from toxic ingredients. Taste Organic has a second store on the north shore in Turramurra. Both offer click and collect and home delivery services to surrounding suburbs, too. Images: Cassandra Hannagan
It's not just you and I that struggle through these hot summer days — particularly this week, during the heatwave — our pups get hot, too. Thankfully, there are a few places you can take them to cool down. And one of them is a new pool exclusively for very good dogs. Located at the southern end of Sydney Park, near City Farm, the dog-only pool is the perfect spot to visit at the end of a (slightly sweaty) summer walk. Sydney Park, which borders St Peters and Erskineville, is one of 44 off-leash parks in the City of Sydney — but it's the only one with a dedicated doggy pool. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bsv6Q2zFYmu/ You might even spot Lord Mayor Clover Moore there with her two staffies, Bessie and Buster. If Sydney Park isn't a convenient stop off for you, you could also take your pet to one of Sydney's dog-friendly beaches — which include Sirius Cove in Mosman up north, and Horderns Beach in Bundeena down south — or to one of our favourite dog parks. Then, you can both head for a pint or two at these ten pubs and bars that cater for pups.
If his headline speaker gig at the first-ever SXSW Sydney filled Charlie Brooker with tech nightmare inspiration, viewers are about to reap the benefits: more Black Mirror is on its way. The dystopian anthology series released its sixth season in 2023, and now Netflix has renewed it for another batch of episodes. Imagining how humanity's use of technology can keep going wrong clearly hasn't met its limits yet. Variety reports that Black Mirror will start production on season seven before 2023 is out — but details from there are scarce. The number of instalments, who'll star and which storylines will feature haven't yet been revealed, but Brooker (Cunk on Earth) and fellow executive producers Annabel Jones (also Cunk on Earth) and Jessica Rhoades (Station Eleven) are expected to return. Locking in Black Mirror's next season so soon after its last is a contrast to the show's fate between season five and season six. After the former dropped its three episodes in 2019, fans were left waiting and wondering about more to come. Then, in 2022, word started circulating that the sixth season was in the works. In April 2023, the series' Twitter account posted "what have we missed?" — then the trailers started coming, ahead of season six's arrival in June. The show's most-recent instalments pondered streaming algorithms with Salma Hayek Pinault (Magic Mike's Last Dance) and Annie Murphy (Kevin Can F**k Himself), true crime with Samuel Blenkin (The Witcher: Blood Origin) and Myha'la Herrold (Bodies Bodies Bodies), and an alternative 1969 with Aaron Paul (Westworld), Josh Hartnett (Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre) and Kate Mara (Call Jane). Also on its list: a paparazzi tale with Zazie Beetz (Atlanta), Clara Rugaard (I Am Mother) and Danny Ramirez (Stars at Noon) — and the first Red Mirror episode, going full horror, with Anjana Vasan (Killing Eve), Paapa Essiedu (Men), Katherine Rose Morley (The Syndicate) and David Shields (Benediction). Season six was teased as "the most unpredictable, unclassifiable and unexpected season yet", which is saying something given everything that Black Mirror has thrown at the screen in past seasons (and in choose-your-own-adventure-style movie Black Mirror: Bandersnatch). And yes, Brooker does keep facing quite the challenge: making something that manages to be even more dispiriting than reality over the past few years. That's increasingly been one of the show's dilemmas — and noting that something IRL feels just like Black Mirror has become one of the cliches of our times — but clearly he has more ideas. There's no trailer yet for Black Mirror's seventh season, of course, but you can check out the trailer for season six below: Black Mirror season seven will stream via Netflix, but doesn't yet have a release date — we'll update you when one is announced. Read our review of season six, and our interview with Charlie Brooker. Via Variety. Images: Nick Wall / Netflix.
UPDATE: JUNE 28, 2019 — Well, the time has come. Route 66 will close its King Street doors this Saturday, June 29. Pop by and say bye — and make a final purchase — before then. In the summer of 1988, a vintage emporium opened on Crown Street with a retro cowgirl (Miss Completely) painted on the building's side. And it's been there ever since. For 30 years, Route 66 has been a top-notch second-hand clothing destination and neighbourhood gem — and now it's closing its Darlinghurst doors and heading to Newtown. Opening first in Melbourne (the store has since closed), Route 66 is the child of Tina Lowe and Ross Waddington. After a trip through America's heartland, the couple wanted to encourage a lifestyle of "anti-fashion" in Sydney and create a hub for like-minded folk. Now run by Tina and Leroi Waddington (actual human child of Tina and Ross), the shop continues to stock some of Sydney's best quality denim, vintage boots, pomades and rare clothing. "I'm amazed I've been here for this long too," says Lowe. https://www.instagram.com/p/BwQeyHgB41d/ "Is it sad to leave the neighbourhood?" Lowe says, echoing our question. "Of course it is. I know we shouldn't be afraid of change and development and all those things but at the same time they're just homogenising the whole neighbourhood and Sydney. It's hard for people who are trying to do something different to have their own space." The move comes out of pre-emptive necessity due to local council approving a development application to build office blocks and carparks on the Crown Street block. If the build goes ahead, it will also impact the beloved The Record Store below — and most of the block, according to the vinyl haunt's co-owner Stephan Gyory. For now, The Record Store is holding its ground, but if the build goes ahead, it will have to move like its neighbour. "We looked around for a while and [Newtown] seems to be the only place that suits what we're doing," says Tina. "I think it'll be good. I'm excited about the space we found. And it's time for change." Taking over the former retro furniture shop Collectika, which is relocating to Burleigh Heads, Route 66 will make Newtown its new home sometime in June. According to the owners, much will be the same, just a bigger shop and a new postcode. Route 66's Crown Street location is slated to close son Saturday, June 29 and will reopen at 2/82 Enmore Road, Newtown soon after. We'll keep you updated with an exact date.
Crowdfunded restaurants may sound like a dubious proposition, but Sydney's IconPark have shown they can make it work. The company's Darlinghurst restaurant space has twice opened its kitchens to pop-up operations, first in the form of Matt Stone's Stanley Street Merchants, followed American-style BBQ joint Rupert & Ruby. Now IconPark is once again looking for tenants. Only this time, there's no expiration date. As before, the recipient of the IconPark lease will be decided via reality TV-style death match. Applicants run competitive crowdfunding campaigns, giving hungry members of the public the chance to vote with their wallets. After three weeks, whichever concept has the most pledges gets a three-year contract at IconPark's established 78 Stanley Street location, with the opportunity to start cooking straight away. "If applicants raise enough money during the crowdfunding campaign to support their concept, they have the opportunity to walk into a location with an awesome existing trade, without needing to pay for the business," says IconPark co-founder Dean McEvoy. "The license is in place, and all the equipment and fittings are there to start trading the day after they win." Information on how to pitch your unique restaurant idea can be found at the IconPark website. Applications open this week, with the three week crowdfunding blitz set to occur in early 2015. The inaugural season attracted more than 100 applications, so whatever your pitch, make sure it's a good one.
Opinions may be divided on what is truly the best medium of entertainment, but there's no denying the simple pleasure of going to a musical. The feeling of being swept off your feet by a particularly memorable tune, doubled over laughing or drenched in your own tears, its a stagecraft that's captured the love of millions around the world. This year is is no exception for killer musicals, so we partnered with Destination NSW to curate a guide to the biggest musicals coming to stages in Sydney in 2023. Whether you want to laugh, sing or cry, there's a stage show below for you.
They're taking the hobbits to Amazon — and, later this year, fans of Lord of the Rings will be able to see the end result. You should already have Friday, September 2, 2022 marked in your diary, as the premiere date for Amazon Prime Video's new LOTR show was announced last year. But if you've been wondering exactly what you'll be watching, the streaming platform has just provided a few new details. While the series has just been referred to as The Lord of the Rings since it was first announced it back in 2017 — including when it was given the official go-ahead in mid-2018 and confirmed that it wouldn't just remake Peter Jackson's movies, and also when a few other concrete details regarding what it's about were revealed, its full title is officially The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. And if you're wondering why, Amazon has dropped a title release video (yes, we now live in a world where there are trailers for announcing what a show will be called) which includes some of JRR Tolkien's most famous lines. If you're a big LOTR fan — on the page and thanks to the films — you should be familiar with Tolkien's Ring Verse, which outlines who was intended to receive the rings of power. Elven-kings, dwarf-lords, mortal men and the Dark Lord all get a mention, and you can hear the key lines in the video below: "This is a title that we imagine could live on the spine of a book next to JRR Tolkien's other classics. The Rings of Power unites all the major stories of Middle-earth's Second Age: the forging of the rings, the rise of the Dark Lord Sauron, the epic tale of Númenor, and the Last Alliance of Elves and Men," said showrunners JD Payne and Patrick McKay, announcing the news. "Until now, audiences have only seen on-screen the story of the One Ring – but before there was one, there were many… and we're excited to share the epic story of them all." In a series that'll make ample use of New Zealand's scenic landscape in its first season — and so greenery abounds, naturally, as the first image from the show illustrates — The Rings of Power will spend time in Middle-earth's Second Age as Payne and McKay explained, bringing that era from the LOTR realm to the screen for the very first time. According to show's official synopsis, it'll follow "the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth's history," with the action set thousands of years before the novels and movies we've all read and watched. The series will also "take viewers back to an era in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien's pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness." If you're a little rusty on your LOTR lore, the Second Age lasted for 3441 years, and saw the initial rise and fall of Sauron, as well as a spate of wars over the coveted rings. Elves feature prominently, and there's plenty to cover, even if Tolkien's works didn't spend that much time on the period — largely outlining the main events in an appendix to the popular trilogy. Naturally, you can expect Sauron to feature in the new show, and to give its main figures some trouble. "Beginning in a time of relative peace, the series follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth," the official synopsis continues. "From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of the elf-capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the furthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone," it also advises. In terms of stars, The Rings of Power will feature an unsurprisingly large cast — and some impressive talent behind the scenes. Among the actors traversing Middle-earth are Tom Budge (Judy & Punch), Morfydd Clark (Saint Maud), Ismael Cruz Córdova (The Undoing), Joseph Mawle (Game of Thrones), Cynthia Addai-Robinson (The Accountant), Maxim Baldry (Years and Years), Peter Mullan (Westworld), Benjamin Walker (The Underground Railroad) and comedian Lenny Henry. And, the series is being overseen by showrunners and executive producers JD Payne and Patrick McKay, while filmmaker JA Bayona (A Monster Calls, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom) directs the first two episodes. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will be available to stream via Amazon Prime Video from Friday, September 2, 2022.
An absolute monster of a lineup and a special treat for anyone who missed out on Laneway tickets, with three of 2013's hottest hip hop acts set to tear the roof off the Enmore. Earl Sweatshirt came into the spotlight as part of the Odd Future crew but missed much of the group's huge first year of tours and releases, and no one knew quite why — was he in prison? At boarding school in Samoa? At a military academy? Whatever it was, Earl has been making up for lost time with his debut album, Doris, both a critical and commercial smash hit, and featuring on countless end-of-year lists. Danny Brown also had a big year with the release of his third album, Old, a throwback album that wears its love for old-school hip hop proudly on its sleeve. Brown's first successes as a musician came from very 'now' styles and sound like trap and electronica, but with this album Brown says he wanted to return to a sample-based, 'classic' sound that borrows most from J Dilla and Wu-Tang. The result somehow sounds both fiercely new and groundbreaking as well as immediately familiar. Run the Jewels is a new name, but the two names behind it are anything but. El-P and Killer Mike joined forces in 2013 after featuring on each other's albums the year before, and they somehow found the perfect balance between Mike's aggressive Southern flow and El-P's tense, hyper delivery. There have been lots of high-profile collaboration albums in hip hop, but it's been a long time since anything was released that is this cohesive and this wholly developed. And as anyone who saw El-P at Laneway this year will know, he's a tireless, frenetic live performer who never lets the intensity drop even for a moment. https://youtube.com/watch?v=anRkutaPS9w
Society has drilled it into our heads that it's unethical to capitalise on the youthful vitality of small, underprivileged children, but Soccket might make you see things differently. A small company called Unchartered Play has developed a soccer ball that doubles as a portable generator, providing both fun and power to those who play with it. The Soccket uses Unchartered Play's patent-pending technology to capture the kinetic energy generated by a game of soccer, storing it in the ball for later use as an off-grid power source. Powering an LED lamp requires 30 minutes of play. The immediate advantages are threefold: Soccer is one of the most popular sports in the world, one in five people around the globe are without power, and most kids think soccer is fun — particularly kids who have never heard of Angry Birds and who are often denied the opportunity to be kids due to more pressing issues such as survival. It is hoped to bring particular relief to developing countries reliant on kerosene lamps, which can lead to severe health problems and are responsible for huge amounts of carbon dioxide emissions. The ball is currently produced very labour intensively in North America, but Unchartered Play have launched a Kickstarter campaign to take things to the next level. $75,000 will help Unchartered Play (a team of just eight people) bring on board more employees, purchase more tools and equipment, automate parts of the assembly process, and up their output of Soccket Balls from a few hundred to thousands per week. They've almost reached half of their goal with 24 days to go. $1 is the minimum, but pledging $89 or more will get you one standard Soccket Ball and lamp if the campaign is successful. You've then got the option of keeping it for a sweet-as camping gadget or, you know, giving it up to a child in need. Via Inhabitat.com.
Australia's arts calendar is always world-class, but this year it is particularly jam-packed — not just with recurring festivals and events, but lots of things that will hit the city for the first time ever. Us lucky Australians will be the first people in the world to see Patricia Piccinini's Skywhalepapa take to the sky and, down in Melbourne, the works of 20th century French artist Pierre Bonnard reimagined by architect and designer India Mahdavi. Plus, we've got multiple big-name exhibitions and not one, but two new galleries. While more events, installations and and exhibitions will inevitably be announced as the year progresses, these are the ones you should get more excited about right now. THE RETURN OF PATRICIA PICCININI'S OTHERWORLDLY SKYWHALE At 34 metres long, more than twice as big as a regular hot air balloon and ripped straight from Patricia Piccinini's inimitable mind, Skywhale might just be one of Australia's most recognisable recent pieces of art. It's a sight to see, and the largest-scale example of the artist's fascination with the thin line that separates nature and technology — and it's about to meet its match. In 2020, the National Gallery of Australia will unveil Piccinini's new Skywhalepapa, which is designed to form a family with Skywhale. They'll both float through the Canberra skies from April, with the second bulbous sculpture commissioned as part of the gallery's Balnaves Contemporary Series. In total, the pair will take flight from a site near the NGA eight times during the nearly three-month Skywhales: Every Heart Sings exhibition, with the exact launch dates yet to be revealed. Just how big Skywhalepapa will be is also yet to be announced, but given the impressive size of its companion, expect it to be hefty. If you can't make it to Canberra to see the growing Skywhale clan, they will also tour the country for an NGA touring exhibition, with locations and dates to be confirmed at a later date. Skywhales: Every Heart Sings will run Canberra's National Gallery of Australia in April 2020. A BRAND NEW MULTI-SENSORY DIGITAL ART GALLERY If you prefer an art experience that extends beyond looking at works on a wall, prepare to be impressed by Melbourne's new immersive digital art gallery. Set to open sometime in autumn, The Lume will take the form of a $15 million 2000-square-metre gallery, decked out with 150 state-of-the-art projectors. Projections of some of the world's most celebrated works will be splashed across various surfaces, backed by powerful musical soundtracks and complemented by aromas. The project is the brainchild of Melbourne-based Grande Exhibitions, which, for the past 14 years, has hosted immersive exhibitions and gallery experiences in over 130 cities across the world. The company also owns and operates Rome's Museo Leonardo da Vinci. Known for celebrating art world greats like Vincent van Gogh and da Vinci through modern, multi-sensory technology, Grande Exhibitions will use a similar formula at The Lume. Instead of showcasing original works, the gallery will rely on a curation of music and moving image to create a tapestry of instantly recognisable artworks. The Lume will open in an unconfirmed Melbourne location in autumn 2020. We'll let you know when more details are announced. [caption id="attachment_750699" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Top image: Chiharu Shiota b.1972, Kishiwada, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. In Silence (2002/2019). Production support: Alcantara S.p.A. Installation view: Shiota Chiharu: The Soul Trembles, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, 2019. Courtesy: Kenji Taki Gallery, Nagoya/Tokyo. Image courtesy: Mori Art Museum, Tokyo. Photograph: Sunhi Mang.[/caption] A MAZE OF RED AND BLACK WOOL AT GOMA It's been home to David Lynch's eerie filmscapes, Yayoi Kusama's infinity rooms, a snowman and Patricia Piccinini's forest of flowers. Yes, Brisbane's Gallery of Modern Art loves an immersive installation — and it has more in store for 2020. Fancy wandering through a labyrinth of red and black wool? That's on next year's agenda. As part of its just-announced 2020 lineup, GOMA revealed it'll host Chiharu Shiota: The Soul Trembles, a showcase focusing on the Berlin-based Japanese artist and her work over the past quarter-century. In an Australian exclusive, the exhibition comes to Brisbane after recently premiering in Tokyo — and while it won't sit 53 storeys up or come with panoramic views of the city, like it did in Japan, Shiota's string-heavy installations are certain to garner more than a little attention. Fashioned from millions of strands, they resemble weaved, maze-like webs and take up entire rooms. The Soul Trembles is the largest-ever solo exhibition by the artist — and although GOMA hasn't revealed just how much of the Tokyo lineup is coming to Brisbane, art lovers can expect an array of sprawling installations, sculptures and video footage of Shiota's performances, as well as photographs and drawings. Highlighting her fascination with intangible concepts, such as memory, anxiety, dreams and silence, the ticketed display will run from June 27–October 5, 2020. Chiharu Shiota: The Soul Trembles will run at Brisbane's GOMA from June 27–October 5, 2020. THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE'S FIRST MUSEUM OF UNDERWATER ART There are plenty of ways to soak in the Great Barrier Reef's natural underwater delights — and the Museum of Underwater Art is the newest one. The attraction – created by marine sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor — has been a long time in the works, but just recently installed its first two artworks just off the shore at Townsville. The first artwork, Ocean Siren, can be found 30 metres from The Strand jetty — and while it actually towers above the water, it interacts with live water temperature data. Designed to resemble Takoda Johnson, one of the area's Wulgurukaba traditional owners, it receives information from the Davies Reef weather station on the Great Barrier Reef, then changes colour in response to variations as they happen. This one can be visited now Coral Greenhouse, on the other hand, sits 18 metres beneath the ocean's surface on the John Brewer Reef. It's an underwater building filled with coral garden beds and more than 20 sculptures, many resembling local school children — and has been made to both stand up to wave pressures and cyclones, and remain visible to divers and snorkellers. While this one is installed, it won't be open for viewing until April 1, 2020. Four pieces are planned in total — another one at Palm Island is expected to be installed by the end of the year, and another at Magnetic Island will open once funding is sourced. MoUA's first artwork can be seen now just off The Strand jetty at Townsville, and the second one will be able to view from April 2020. [caption id="attachment_759712" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Lisa Reihana 'Tai Whetuki - House of Death Redux' (2016) at The Walters Prize, Auckland Art Gallery.[/caption] SYDNEY'S BIANNUAL EXHIBITION THAT TAKES OVER THE CITY FOR 12 WEEKS The centrepiece of the 2018 Biennale of Sydney was Ai Weiwei's 60-metre inflatable boat, a critique and exploration of the global refugee crisis. This year, when the Biennale returns to art galleries across Sydney, the lineup of 100-plus artists will be examining another poignant issue close to the heart of Australia: First Nations sovereignty and intergenerational trauma. Running from Saturday, March 14 until Monday, June 8, the 2020 Biennale is entitled Nirin, which means 'edge' in the language of western NSW's Wiradjuri people. This year's theme is timely, for two reasons: the 2020 blockbuster falls on the 250th anniversary of Captain Cook's voyage to Australia — and it will be helmed by a new First Nations artistic director: famed Sydney-born, Melbourne-based interdisciplinary artist Brook Andrew. Andrew has selected an impressive lineup of artists and creatives — many of them First Nations — from around the world to exhibit at the Art Gallery of NSW, Woolloomooloo's Artspace, Campbelltown Arts Centre, Cockatoo Island, MCA and the National Art School for the exhibition's 12 weeks. On the just-announced program, you'll find the Southern Hemisphere premiere of Arthur Jafa's Golden Lion-awarded work The White Album, Wiradjuri artist Karla Dickens's immersive work symbolising the disproportionate number of incarcerated Indigenous Australian women and a large-scale political protest piece by Pitjantjatjara artist Kunmanara Mumu Mike Williams (who passed away last year). Cockatoo Island will be home to a wide range of works, too, including Ghanaian-born artist Ibrahim Mahama's sprawling installation of coal sacks; Tony Albert's interactive greenhouse, where you'll be invited to write and plant messages; and Tlingit/Unangax̂ artist Nicholas Galanin's excavation work that'll 'dig up' the land beneath the shadow of Hyde Park's Captain Cook statue. The 22nd Biennale of Sydney runs from March 14–June 8 2020. [caption id="attachment_747305" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Gallery at sketch designed by India Mahdavi, London, 2014, photo by Thomas Humery.[/caption] A WORLD-FIRST EXHIBITION BY PIERRE BONNARD AND INDIA MAHDAVI Heading the National Gallery of Victoria's autumn/winter program this year is a world-premiere exhibition Pierre Bonnard, created in collaboration with famed Parisian museum the Musée d'Orsay. It offers a glimpse into the life and work of acclaimed 20th-century French artist Bonnard through a sprawling collection of pieces on loan from the likes of London's Tate and The Museum of Modern Art in New York, along with other renowned French museums. A close friend of the legendary Henri Matisse, the artist is best known for his stylised decorative works evoking scenes of everyday domestic life. The Melbourne exhibition will see Bonnard's recognisable designs brought to life even further, with the help of famed Iranian-Egyptian-French architect and designer India Mahdavi. Mahdavi — who has designed eye-catching spaces like London's Red Valentino store and the famous all-pink Gallery at sketch — will use her signature colour palettes and love of textures to create an immersive, life-size version of one of Bonnard's domestic scenes. The exhibition will run at NGV International from June 5–October 4, 2020. [caption id="attachment_737971" align="alignnone" width="1920"] White Night Melbourne by Gerard Dubois[/caption] A BRAND NEW MAJOR WINTER ARTS FESTIVAL Melbourne's arts calendar never fails to keep us busy, however, it's always had a bit of a lull in winter before Melbourne International Arts Festival and Melbourne Music Week take over the city in spring. But, this year, that's all set to change. In May last year the Victorian Government announced that it will launch a huge new citywide arts festival in the winter of 2020. It's set to shake up the Melbourne arts calendar as the new festival will merge the aforementioned Melbourne Festival and arts all-nighter White Night and move them into a winter timeslot. While White Night was originally held on a hot February night, in 2019 it was moved to August. Melbourne Fest, which was established in 1986, is usually held in October. Exact timings and details are yet to be revealed, but the new "global" festival — as it's being billed by the Andrews Government — will take over the city for several weeks, much like Melbourne Festival usually does in October. While it will no doubt combine the best bits of the two existing festivals, a new creative team will come on to develop a new program and vision. We're told the the 2020 program will feature a "diverse program of visual and performing arts" coupled with with "large-scale takeovers of precincts" after-dark. The inaugural festival — which is yet to be named — will kick off with a 'transitional' year in the winter of 2020. The new winter festival will hit Melbourne in winter 2020. We'll keep you updated when new details or dates are announced. Top image: Skywhale, 2013, Patricia Piccinini. National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. Gift of anonymous donor 2019, Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
Urban beekeepers in Australia are on the increase, with more and more people besotted by an unusual new love affair with backyard native beekeeping. According to Sydney's Lord Mayor, Clover Moore, the new trend has brought an element of nature back to the city, where residents and native bees alike are reaping its benefits. The Asylum Seekers Centre community garden in Surry Hills is currently home to several hundred sugarbag bees. Volunteer Jess Perini says that asylum seekers are “hooked” on the beauty of the tiny bees, which produce roughly one kilo of sugarbag honey – an expensive, nutritious variety – a year. Not only do the creatures add to the splendour and biodiversity of the garden, they have also helped to break down language barriers for asylum seekers. Sydneysiders can expect the backyard beekeeping craze to stay with the instalment of native beehives in several community gardens later this year. In Brisbane, a code of practice for urban beekeeping has already been established. And in Melbourne, an organisation called Rooftop Honey offers people the chance to sponsor their own hives. Australia is home to ten different species of stingless bees which grow to only a few millimetres. Tiny and harmless, they quite literally take the sting out of a mutually beneficial relationship. Backyard beekeepers are able to harvest their own sources of honey, while the bees find sanctuary from the destruction of their habitats from land clearing. Native bees also play an important role in balancing the natural ecosystem by pollinating native plant species and crops. With so many environmental and community benefits, it’s not hard to see why urban beekeeping has generated such a buzz. And it’s not limited to Australia – since a ban on beekeeping in New York was overturned in 2010, the popular pastime has hit the roof on NYC's rooftops.
A stunning new Melbourne arts, cultural and entertainment precinct has beat out stiff competition across the globe to take out the Architecture of the Year prize at the International Design Awards 2017. Bunjil Place, which was designed by acclaimed architectural studio Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp (fjmt), also scooped up gold awards for two design disciplines: 'institutional' and 'landmarks, symbolic structures, memorials, public'. Opened to the public in October 2017, the $125 million Narre Warren project was imagined as "an inviting central heart for the community that celebrates participation, belonging and pride". Both its name and its impressive design are linked to cultural themes of importance to the traditional owners and inhabitants of the land, the Boon Wurrung and Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation. fjmt Design Director Richard Francis-Jones is understandably stoked with the win, though says he's been just as happy with the design's reception closer to home. "While recognition in the form of international design awards is much valued, more important has been to see the community embrace Bunjil Place as their own," he noted. Those keen to get up close and personal with the award-winning design can experience Bunjil Place during Open House Melbourne Weekend on July 28 and 29. It's set to host a whole range of activities, including film screenings, design talks and guided tours with VIP access behind the scenes. You can find Bunjil Place at 2 Patrick Northeast Drive, Narre Warren.
With the weather getting warmer, the evenings getting lighter and the slightest suggestion of summer in the air, it is definitely time to crawl out from behind duvet and get out on the town. And with The Standard opening this week, you now have your first port of call. The Standard, Sydney's newest multi-purpose performance space, is officially opening its doors to the public this Thursday and warming up the space with the sounds of Bluejuice, Millions, Step-Panther and Splash Mountain DJs. This will be backed up with an impressive roster of shows in the coming weeks, including Custard's first Sydney gig since 1999. Located on level three of Kinselas, one of Sydney's landmark drinking establishments, The Standard will be dedicated to live music, visual art, theatre, comedy and burlesque. In its former life it played host to the Beastie Boys, Public Enemy and The Lemonheads, and now it is set to make a comeback and breathe some new life into Sydney's live music scene. Definitely an incentive to get off the couch. To win one of five double passes to The Standard's Official Public Launch this Thursday September 15, just make sure you are subscribed to Concrete Playground then email your name through to hello@concreteplayground.com.au. Entries close on Wednesday at 5pm.
The least surprising aspect of Tár is also its most essential: Cate Blanchett being as phenomenal as she's ever been, plus more. The Australian Nightmare Alley, Thor: Ragnarok and Carol actor — "our Cate", of course — best be making space next to her Oscars for The Aviator and Blue Jasmine as a result. Well-deserved accolades have been showered her way since this drama about a cancelled conductor premiered at the 2022 Venice International Film Festival (the prestigious event's Best Actress gong was the first of them) and, as the Golden Globes showed, they're not likely to stop till this awards season is over. Blanchett is that stunning in Tár, that much of a powerhouse, that adept at breathing life and complexity into a thorny figure, and that magnetic and mesmerising. Even when she hasn't been at her utmost on rare past occasions or something she's in hasn't been up to her standards — see: Don't Look Up for both — she's a force that a feature gravitates around. Tár is astonishing itself, too, but Blanchett at her finest is the movie's rock, core and reason for being. Blanchett is spectacular in Tár, and she also has to be spectacular in Tár — because Lydia Tár, the maestro she's playing, earns that term to start with in the film's on-screen world. At the feature's kickoff, the passionate and ferocious character is feted by a New Yorker Festival session led by staff writer Adam Gopnik as himself, with her achievements rattled off commandingly to an excited crowd; what a list it is. Inhabiting this part requires nothing less than utter perfection, then, aka what Tár demands herself, her latest assistant Francesca (Noémie Merlant, Jumbo), her wife Sharon (Nina Hoss, Shadowplay) and everyone else in her orbit constantly. Strong, seductive, severe, electrifying and downright exceptional, Blanchett nails it. That Lydia can't always do the same, no matter how hard, painstakingly and calculatingly she's worked to ensure that it appears otherwise, is one of the movie's main concerns. Directing a film for just the third time in 22 years — and the third at all, as well as the first since 2006's Little Children — writer/helmer Todd Field begins Tár with the woman, the myth and the legend. Since the feature's US release, viewers have been known to think that Lydia is an actual person, which has proven instantly memeable, yes, but more importantly is a testament to the detail and potency of the filmmaker's layered script. As Gopnik advises, Tár is a protégé of the one and only (and real) Leonard Bernstein, the first female chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic and an EGOT-winner. She has a book in the works, Tár on Tar, and she's soon to record her dream piece, Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 5. She's not fond of having her successes ascribed to battling sexism, but she's proud, confident and authoritative talking about her career, field and leap to the top of classical music. Not mentioned in this early celebration, unsurprisingly: the behaviour that'll come back to stalk Lydia, involving her treatment of mentees and students, and cracking her hard-carved place in an elite realm. With two Academy Award nominations to his name for screenwriting, for both Little Children and his 2001 feature debut In the Bedroom, Field is in his element plotting Tár's intricate and tangled life that just keeps getting more and more knotted — and penning and directing a film that's equally as complicated. Tár is many things and never merely one thing, but it's a psychological character study above all else. As the feature charts its namesake's downfall from the heights that the picture opens with, and unpacks her arrogance and ambition, it unravels Lydia. As it examines her professional dealings and personal bonds, sees transactional connections wherever she goes and shows her scant regard for most folks other than herself (although she'll happily bully a schoolgirl for her young daughter Petra, played by first-timer Mila Bogojevic), the movie chips away at Lydia's carefully established personality and mystique. And, as her standing plummets amid a scandal, and her relationships with it, the film probes and ponders who she truly is anyway — and why. Is Tár a groomer, predator and liar? A talent who took her lust for triumph too far? A celebrity overly enamoured with her own fame and power? Is she a woman fracturing? Someone literally haunted? An egotist using and emotionally bruising, then getting what she deserves? Tár is too crafty — and well-crafted — a drama to quickly or easily tick most of those boxes for its protagonist, and finds much of its depths (and much of its fuel for Blanchett's performance) in provocatively giving all of the above attention. As Lydia belittles Juilliard kids in showy lectures about JS Bach, grinds first violin Sharon down to just one of her offsiders, capitalises upon Francesca's own conducting dreams, weathers a storm with her past favourite Krista (debutant Sylvia Flote) and throws her current approval towards new Russian cellist Olga (acting newcomer Sophie Kauer), Tár is also as precise at building the world that its titular character dwells in, where her genius and thrall draws in everyone, enables her, and lets Lydia herself believe that everything is excused and even worth it if it results in her art. Collaborating with cinematographer Florian Hoffmeister (Pachinko), editor Monika Willi (Happy End), costume designer Bina Daigeler (1899), production designer Marco Bittner Rosser (Only Lovers Left Alive) and composer Hildur Guðnadóttir (Joker), Field does indeed fashion Tár immaculately. A film of cool hues, firm lines and rich surfaces — Lydia's suits encapsulate the look perfectly — as well as a gripping, tension-dripping beat, it's a film where every choice seen and heard is revealing about its story, central figure and themes. Tár is also a movie of striking scenes revelling in such tightly constructed surroundings, all with Blanchett at their centre. Every choice she makes with her facial expressions and body language, whether Lydia is regaling fans, instructing pupils, pushing aside loved ones or luring in new points of interest, is a compelling, entrancing masterclass. When Tár picks up the baton, plays the piano, holds court, tries to navigate her own fall and perhaps even orchestrate her own second rise: these moments, whether loud and intense or quiet and contemplative, are hypnotic and loaded, too. But, across a 158-minute duration that never feels that long and shows zero signs of bloat, Field fills his frames with more than just one outstanding player. He could've simply let Blanchett's awards-worthy efforts be Tár's everything alone, and this'd still be captivating, bold and intelligent. Again, there wouldn't be a film this piercing without her, and it rises in tandem with her astounding work. In what's hopefully not his last picture for another decade and a half, however, Field sees what Lydia can't and won't. Casting German acting royalty Hoss and French Portrait of a Lady on Fire standout Merlant, both of whom bring texture, vulnerability and visible signs of pain to their pivotal characters, makes a statement: that no story is one person's only.
While face masks were first mandated in Melbourne back in mid-July, the NSW Government has only ever 'strongly recommended' its citizens to cover up. From midnight tonight, Saturday, January 2, however, that's all changing. In a bid to contain the current COVID-19 outbreak, which now encompasses clusters on the northern beaches, in Croydon and in western Sydney's Berala, the NSW Government is mandating the wearing of masks for some indoor settings across Greater Sydney. Sydneysiders, including those who live in Wollongong, the Central Coast and the Blue Mountains, must don a mask when they are shopping (at supermarkets, shopping centres and other retail stores); on public and shared transport; at indoor entertainment, such as cinemas and theatres; at places of worship; at hair and beauty salons; and using gaming services. They'll also be mandatory for all staff in hospitality venues and casinos. Children under 12 are exempt, but are encouraged to wear one where they can. If you refuse to do so, you'll risk being slapped with a $200 on-the-spot fine. While the public health order commences today, police won't start issuing fines until Monday, January 4. NSW recorded seven locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night, with an additional 12 cases in... Posted by NSW Health on Friday, January 1, 2021 Compulsory mask wearing is not the only new restriction announced today for Greater Sydney, either. Gym classes will be reduced to 30 people; places of worship, weddings and funerals will be limited to 100 people, with one person per four square metres; outdoor performances and protests capped at 500; seated, ticketed and enclosed outdoor gatherings reduced to 2000; and nightclubs will not be permitted. These restrictions will come into effect at midnight tonight for all of Greater Sydney, including the southern half of the northern beaches, which has been under stay-at-home orders since Saturday, December 19. While the stay-at-home orders are ending tonight for the southern zone — south of Narrabeen Bridge and the Baha'i Temple — which will then have the same restrictions as the rest of Sydney, they will remain for the northern zone until Saturday, January 9. To find out more about the status of COVID-19 in NSW, head to the NSW Health website.
Rockpool Dining Group is headed up to The Hills this month to open its ninth Sydney outpost of The Bavarian. The 350-seat German-style restaurant will open on Monday, May 14 at the Rouse Hill Town Centre and bring its oversized beers, food platters and sports-screening televisions along with it. The beer hall boasts 17 taps — think German mainstays like Löwenbräu, Stiegl and Hofbräu and local brews by Urban Craft Brewing — along with an outdoor beer garden. The fit-out will follow suit of the brand's existing venues and will include stone walls, alpine timber finishes, beer barrel tables and a stein chandelier, plus bar-side dining. Those massive, litre-sized beer steins that The Bavarian is known for serving are accompanied by hearty dishes like crispy pork knuckle with sauerkraut and creamy mash, or crackling pork belly with onion bier jus; plus a range of gourmet sausages, giant pretzels, share platters and loaded schnittys — from American, Mexican and Hawaiian to one that weighs an insanely hefty one-kilogram. Weekday deals include $15 lunch specials, all-you-can-eat meat platters on Mondays and two-for-one cocktails on Thursdays, along with a daily $5 drinks happy hour from 4–7pm. Apart from food and booze, The Bavarian is a go-to for watching sports, with several extra-large screens available throughout the space. Rockpool Dining Group — which was formed when Urban Purveyor Group acquired Neil Perry's Rockpool Group — has signed 15 new leases in the last 90 days, so we'll surely be hearing about more openings in the months to come. The Rouse Hill location not only marks the ninth across Sydney but is one of six additional Bavarians slated to open across the country in the next few months, including another in Castle Hill. So while it isn't necessarily new or breaking new ground, it is a significant opening for the suburb. The Bavarian Rouse Hill will open from 11am on Monday, May 14 at the Rouse Hill Town Centre, corner Windsor Road and White Hart Drive, Rouse Hill. For more info, visit thebavarians.com.
It's never too cold to party. At least, that's what the guys behind Snowtunes say. And for its third year, this Snowy Mountains music festival is coming back even bigger — twice the size actually. With the addition of a second night of festivities, the party people have also added a second stage so punters can enjoy live music at one and dance it out at the other, dedicated to EDM. And with our Snowy Mountains giveaway, you could be right there listening, dancing and partying with the snowy revellers. Who's expected to take to the stage at the festival? Plenty of Aussie-born talent, including L D R U, Gang of Youths, Nina Las Vegas, Mashd N Kutcher and Tigerlily, plus New Zealand-born singer-songwriter Mitch James and French DJ Klingande with some tunes from abroad. Mark your calendars and find some snow gear, because you could win a double pass to both days of Snowtunes on September 1 and 2, plus two nights accommodation in your own studio apartment. Enter your details below. [competition]631762[/competition] Image: Perisher Ski Resl.
Sydney may be a delightful city in which one spends their time, but, let's face it, isn't it nice to get away too? Especially when you don't have to travel too far to get to something as rewarding as this year's High & Dry Festival.Only two hours north of Sydney on Aboriginal land this weekend is Australia's first festival run on 100% renewable energy (combination of solar, wind and bicycle power). Born from a makeshift, spontaneous event over New Year's Eve in 2007 when poor weather cancelled the Peats Ridge Festival, High & Dry returns to its own set of loyal fans and no doubt a whole bunch of new ones. And who wouldn't be a fan of a festival that boasts a focus on creative and performative arts and not just music. There'll be puppets, installations, markets and much, much more. That said, there's music too, with the likes of Entropic, The Barons of Tang and Combat Wombat treading the boards. They are but three of the one hundred acts programmed at this three-day event.There's bound to be an emphasis on sustainable community and intimate summertime magic this year at High & Dry.
Back in 2010, Ryan Gosling starred in a crime drama called All Good Things, playing a real estate heir suspected to be behind his wife's disappearance, as well as other murders. It isn't a highlight on his resume, but you'll see the feature very differently once you've watched six-part HBO docuseries The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst — because Gosling's character is based on Durst, and because filmmaker Andrew Jarecki directed both the movie and the series. True crime isn't a new genre, but The Jinx proved one of its big hitters when it was initially released in 2015. While it was originally airing, Durst was arrested on murder charges, with the criminal proceedings still ongoing to this day. Jarecki's series draws upon more than 20 hours of interviews with Durst, conducted over a number of years, and it'll drop you right into the middle of a twisty case. The minutiae is best experienced by watching, but the show's finale isn't easily forgotten.
Cinema has provided me with the basis of many of everyday fantasies, one of which is calorie-free ice cream. Despite being a largely superficial hollywood chick flick, one thing I found relatable in Roger Kumble's The Sweetest Thing was Christina's (Cameron Diaz) fantasy dream where she eats calorie-free ice cream and gets intimate with Mr Right. Now, bringing fantasy to reality is an American company, Vaportrim, which has invented a dessert-flavoured inhaler, proposing to aid weight-loss. Working with the sense of smell and taste, Vaportrim offers a means to satisfy a sweet tooth by making you feel full, and eat less. Through the process of inhaling smell, taste receptors send messages to your brain which release hormones that tell your body it's full. As Dr. Alan Hirsch of the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation puts it, "It’s all a matter of fooling the brain". Sticking to a strict diet regime can be difficult for those who desire to lose weight. With no calories and containing FDA-GRAS ingredients, even the most skeptical can rest assured that the product warrants little harm if inhaled. Coming in fourteen different flavours, including apple pie, milk chocolate and pina colada, Vaportrim sounds almost too good to be true. For those less inclined to follow weight loss gimmicks you might be interested to hear that the patent for Vaportrim is held by a man who owns the Adult Entertainment Broadcast Network, a pay-per-minute porno site. [Via Lost At E Minor]
One of Sydney's oldest pubs, the Hero lets you time travel and sip a cold beer at the same time. Within these sandstone walls, listening to the lilting tones of the Irish bar staff, it doesn't feel difficult to reach out to your own, or someone else's, colonial ancestor. That said, there's more than that to stimulate the imagination. Ask around about the ghost of Anne Kirkman, join in a Saturday night sing-a-long held around the old piano or sneak a look at the tunnel that runs from the hotel's maze of cellars to the harbour, safe as you are from any shanghaiing techniques. If you'd rather live in the present, perhaps you should pay a visit to the restaurant. The Lamb Shanks are hard to beat, with sautéed onion potato mash, green beans, and port wine, garlic and rosemary jus. Otherwise opt for the Bangers and Mash, with roasted onion, sautéed cabbage and red wine jus. Prices are reasonable, considering your proximity to the harbour, and the food is well worth it. Drinks are standard pub fare. Choose from a range of beers on tap, ours was a James Squire ($6.80). Wines are also on offer from $7 a glass. That said, the real attraction here is not the fancy drinks but the atmosphere: kick back with a schooner and soak it up. [nggallery id=101]
Next time you're slurping on some noodles or devouring a stir-fry, don't stop when your bowl is empty. If you're still hungry, set your sights on the utensils in your hand. Yes, chowing down on chopsticks has become a reality — and whatever you think they'll taste like, they won't. Unless you were really hoping they'd have the same flavour as furniture, that is. Unveiled by Japan's Marushige Confectionery, the edible chopsticks are designed to serve two purposes: provide a sustainable alternative to current chopsticks, which are usually made out of bamboo, wood, plastic or steel, and are used in the billions each year around the world; and provide a reminder about the country's agricultural traditions. It's for the latter reason that they're made out of igusa, the soft reeds usually used to make the tatami floor mats that are common around the nation. By turning igusa into chopsticks, then getting folks to munch on them, Marushige hopes people will come to appreciate the substance's cultural significance. At present, the tatami-flavoured chopsticks be made available at two restaurants in Tokyo, but whether they'll spread to become a broader trend is yet to be seen. No one can argue with the fact that it's an ingenious idea — how many pairs of disposable wooden chopsticks have you used and then thrown out recently? More than you probably realise. As for the taste, maybe it's the kind of thing that you just get accustomed to. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBOXZBgXqDs Via MUNCHIES.
Usually, when a new Pixar film hits screens — typically cinemas, but occasionally being fast-tracked to streaming as well — it unleashes a whole heap of emotions. Getting viewers to ponder their feelings is a big part of the animation company's formula, after all, and it's been working well for them for a quarter-century. See: everything from Wall-E and Ratatouille to Inside Out and Soul. When the next Pixar flick arrives in June, it'll tap into a very specific sensation that's been bubbling up since early 2020. And, it's one that we're all familiar with. Are you craving a vacation? Do you feel a strong yearning to travel the globe and see somewhere other than your own backyard, city, state or country? Have you been dreaming of beaches far, far away every night for 12 months? Then the fact that Luca is set in the Italian Riviera and follows two teenagers over summer is certain to stoke your wanderlust. If the just-dropped first trailer for the film is anything to go by, first-time feature director Enrico Casarosa (Pixar short La Luna) and his team seem to have crafted a gorgeous-looking movie that'll have you wishing you're on the other side of the globe. Against those striking animated backdrops, two teens eat gelato, devour pasta, ride scooters, explore caves and splash around in the gleaming blue ocean. Oh, and they try to hide the fact that they're actually sea monsters — which becomes obvious whenever they get wet — too. As this tale unfurls, viewers will hear Jacob Tremblay (Room, Good Boys) as the eponymous 13-year-old Luca Paguro, while Jack Dylan Grazer (Shazam!, We Are Who We Are) voices his pal Alberto Scorfano. Also among the cast: debutant Emma Berman, Maya Rudolph (The Good Place), Marco Barricelli (The Book of Daniel) and Jim Gaffigan (Tesla). Check out the trailer for Luca below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0i1fgoMyoG8&feature=youtu.be Luca is set to release in Australian cinemas on June 17. Images: © 2020 Disney/Pixar.
His video collection is filled with 80s and 90s educational films. When we chat, he's staring at a Teddy Ruxpin doll. If anyone was destined to make Brigsby Bear, a delightful, insightful comedy about a fictional television show and its number one fan, it's Saturday Night Live star Kyle Mooney. With Mooney in the lead, his childhood pal Kevin Costello with him on co-screenwriting duties, and another of their friends, Dave McCary, in the directors chair, Brigsby Bear feels like it has been ripped not just from Mooney's mind, but from his heart. It's the most earnest and genuine film you could imagine about an adult discovering that his favourite show isn't quite what he thinks — one that isn't afraid to give nostalgia a hearty embrace while wading through dark terrain. It's also a perfect addition to a career that started with web sketches with his friends in comedy troupe Good Neighbour and segued into the most famous late night comedy show there is. Along the way, he's also racked up parts on Parks and Recreation, the US version of Wilfred and Hello Ladies. With Brigbsy Bear currently screening in Australian cinemas, we spoke with Mooney about turning his VHS obsession into a movie, getting the confidence to make the leap to film, and doing so with his best friends. ON FINDING INSPIRATION IN GREEK CINEMA AND 80s VHS TAPES "I don't know how it came to me — if I was just hanging around the house or in some sort of dream state or what, but I became really obsessed with this idea of a guy who watches a TV show that's being produced just for him," explains Mooney. "And I kept on thinking about that concept until eventually the story became not just that, but more about the world he explores after that, and outside of that." "There was a movie that came out a few years ago called Dogtooth. It has some similar qualities, with a family being raised in seclusion, so maybe that played a part. But generally I couldn't tell you where it came from, except from me being that obsessive myself, and watching these shows — I have a big VHS collection of kids shows, and I watch them over and over again." "It's mostly stuff that's made for kids, and mostly stuff from the 80s and 90s. I especially really like stuff that was released straight-to-video, and was produced regionally. And where there's maybe only 200 copies made. Educational films, religious videos, stuff like that. What I really like is when it has a low budget, and low production values, but you can tell that whoever's in charge of this thing is trying to do their best impression of Jim Henson or Walt Disney — and it's totally not working." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sgs81IOU0m4 ON MAKING THE LEAP FROM SHORTS, TO SNL, TO HIS FIRST FEATURE FILM "I started working on videos with Dave, our director, in my early 20s — right out of college. And with every video you learn something. And then, after a few of them you start trying new things, and you add people to the crew, or maybe start to put a little more money into the production. So it was kind of a gradual build where the stakes rise a little more each time." "By the time we got SNL — I went there with Dave and with Beck Bennett, who's a cast member who is also in our movie — again, there is a little more pressure at it, but you get used to it. And now you're working with a huge celebrity host each week! And you do that for a few years, and it has been building so that, by the time we were on set last summer shooting the movie, I felt pretty prepared." ON MAKING A MOVIE WITH HIS CHILDHOOD BEST FRIENDS "We had all of these shared experiences. With Dave and I, like, there was this very specific kid who went to middle school with us. And I can just be like, 'Jim said this in science class in 1998', or whatever it is, and we can get a laugh out of it. And there's just a level of trust that's there, I think, when Dave is directing me. He knows what I'm capable of. We have the same sensibilities, pretty much." "So it's easy for me, and I think it relieves a lot of the pressure of working on something and not knowing how it is going to turn out. We're also all in it together — and we fail together and we succeed together. But yeah, certainly like having so much history and sharing a sensibility helped." "And I had enough fun on that set that I felt like, 'if this is all we get out of it, I feel pretty good'. Even if the movie didn't turn out well, I would've just considered it a rad summer where we got to work on something together. When we weren't shooting, we would hang out in our hotel rooms or get beers or sing karaoke. It was truly a wonderful crew and cast, and it's nice that what comes through on screen is true to what the experience was like." ON THE FILM'S EARNESTNESS AND OPTIMISM "We have so much genuine love for the things we were trying to recreate. The Brigsby show that's in the movie — I love children's entertainment, and we never wanted to poke fun. I think we always really wanted to pay tribute to it." "And also, the film's underlying theme of creativity, or storytelling, or finding something that you love — we never felt like we wanted to make fun of that. We just wanted to embrace it. We just really liked the idea of playing everything earnest and honest, and hoped the laughs would come along naturally along the way." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MdrGM27yQ8 Read our Brigbsy Bear review.
Trying to pick the best line from Succession isn't just a difficult task; it's almost impossible. The series is one of the best-written shows on television, and best in general, in no small part thanks to how well it hurls about bickering dialogue. Before the HBO series first graced TV screens back in 2018, you mightn't have realised exactly how entertaining it is to watch people squabbling. Not just everyday characters, either, but the constantly feuding and backstabbing — and ridiculously wealthy and privileged — family of a global media baron. It's not only the arguing and power plays that make this hit compulsively watchable, however, but the witty words flung about, the scathing insults shot back and forth, and the pitch-perfect performances that deliver every verbal blow. Due to the pandemic, Succession hasn't actually been on our screens for a couple of years now. So, since 2019, we've only been able to enjoy its scheming chaos by re-binging its first two seasons. But the acclaimed drama is set to return next month — and, based on both its initial teaser back in July and the just-dropped full trailer, all those Roy family antics and the bitter words they inspire are in full swing once again. Yes, it's time to soak up your latest glimpse of a fictional family that could be Arrested Development's Bluth crew, but much, much more ruthless. And, after the big bombshell that son Kendall (Jeremy Strong, The Trial of the Chicago 7) dropped at the end of season two, the third season has plenty to dig into. Obviously, always-formidable patriarch Logan (Brian Cox, Super Troopers 2) is far from happy, and the rest of his children — Connor (Alan Ruck, Gringo), Shiv (Sarah Snook, Pieces of a Woman) and Roman (Kieran Culkin, Infinity Baby) — are caught in the middle. If you've seen the past two seasons, you'll know that this brood's tenuous and tempestuous relationship has only gotten thornier as we've all watched, and that doesn't ever look set to change. For Succession newcomers, the series follows the Roys as Logan's offspring try to position themselves as next in line to his empire. It's clearly set among the one percent, in lives that most folks will never know — but the idea that depiction doesn't equal endorsement is as rich in Succession and its brand of satire as its always-disagreeing characters. There is something different this time around, however, with Alexander Skarsgård (Godzilla vs Kong) and Adrien Brody (The Grand Budapest Hotel) joining the drama. Created by Peep Show's Jesse Armstrong — someone who knows more than a thing or two about black comedy — this Emmy, Golden Globe, BAFTA, Critics' Choice, Writers Guild and Directors Guild Award-winner is savagely smart, darkly biting and often laugh-out-loud funny about its chosen milieu. And in the words of cousin Greg (Nicholas Braun, Zola) in this year's earlier sneak peek, yes, that sounds kinda dramatic. As well as dropping the full season three trailer, HBO has also announced that Succession will return mid-October — and Foxtel, which airs the series in Australia, has revealed that the third season will start airing Down Under from Monday, October 18. Check out the full Succession season three trailer below: Succession's third season will start airing on Foxtel and Foxtel On Demand from Monday, October 18. Image: HBO.
Welcome to the future of libraries, where it's about more than just books. Green Square Library has upped the ante and moved beyond the standard collection of pageturners. Within the swish new space, you'll find a high-tech lab, underground reading garden, amphitheatre, music room, cafe and meeting rooms. The building, which is located in Zetland – around three kilometres south of Central Station – is hard to miss, thanks to its six-storey glass tower, which emerges from a tree-dotted plaza. Behind the partially-subterranean architecture is Alexandria-based studio Stewart Hollenstein, whose design topped a 167-strong international competition held back in 2013. While books — and underground gardens in which to read said books — are still the central focus of the library, it also features many spaces dedicated to music. The sprawling music room has a baby grand piano, which can be hired out by Beethoven hopefuls stuck in tiny Sydney apartments, and the open air amphitheatre plays host to public gigs. As well as being an eye-catching piece of art itself, the library also contains two stunning installations. High Water, a series of massive LED screens that interpret local weather patterns in abstract colours, by Indigo Hanlee and Michael Thomas Hill dons the plaza, and Claire Healy and Sean Cordeiro's Cloud Nation – a vintage aircraft with wings containing the miniature world of Laputa, from Jonathan Swift's novel Gulliver's Travels – hangs inside the library. Spending the day surrounded by art, with a book in hand, sounds like perfection to us. Green Square Library is now open at 355 Botany Road, Zetland. It's open 10am–7pm, Monday to Wednesday; 10am–6pm, Thursday and Friday; and 10am–4pm, Saturday. Images: Katherine Griffiths.
Fresh flowers. Just-baked cakes. The air just after a storm. Newly brewed coffee. They're all distinctive scents that not only smell nice, but conjure up warm and fuzzy feelings. And if you find that the odour of cracking open a new computer or gadget from a certain popular brand evokes the same kind of reaction, then you're going to want to order a Mac-scented candle. Replicating the smell of a brand new Mac, the hand-poured candles clearly answer an the age-old question: "what do you get the Apple fan who has everything?". They're made from 100% soy wax, cost US$24, and also conjure notes of mint, peach, basil, lavender, mandarin and sage. We have to say, if that's what you're sniffing out when you open your new laptop, you must have super olfactory capabilities. Sure, it sounds like something out of a Seinfeld episode, were the hit sitcom still airing — or a gag one of the many modern-oriented Twitter parody accounts of the show might come up with; however it really isn't a joke. Mac accessories company Twelve South has added the item to their store, alongside their usual lineup of docks, stands, covers, shelves, bass boosters, plug converters and keyboard extenders (you know, the standard computer, tablet and phone gizmos). One US Mac hosting solution outfit put the candles to the test, and decreed that they do indeed emit the apparently much-sought-after "new Mac smell". There must be a fair number of folks looking to fill their home with that particular scent, because the range has already sold out. Don't worry, Mac sniffers: more will be in stock at the end of the month. Via Fast Company.
Don't sweat it. Just don't. That's a great sentiment, but putting it into action isn't always so easy. Humanity has long wanted to care less about all of the things that really don't matter, including since before self-help was a book genre — and since before there were books. Nothing else has quite summed up that concept quite like The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, though, even just in its title. It sits among a seemingly endless array of texts about living your best life and forgetting pointless strife, but Mark Manson's 2016 hit perfectly captured the idea that we should all devote less attention to matters that simply aren't worth it. First came the book. Then came the film version of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck. Since Manson's famous tome hit shelves, he's also popped up to chat about it and offer his brutally honest self-help advice — and he's returning Down Under in November 2024 to do exactly that again. Consider heading along to this The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck live tour as the next step in pursuing the ultimate goal: giving less fucks. More than 20-million copies of the book have been sold, so you're probably familiar with Manson's take on living more contented and grounded lives already, but there's something to be said about hearing about it in person. Couldn't be arsed reading the text? Then this is another way to soak in its contents. Of course, Manson's spin isn't about never giving a fuck. Rather, he knows that it's wise to choose where to direct our fucks, what to give a crap about and what genuinely bloody matters. The book's chapter titles are as telling as its overall moniker, boasting names such as 'Don't Try', 'Happiness is a problem', 'You are not special', 'You are wrong about everything (But so am I)', 'The importance of saying no' and 'And then you die'. Also the author of Everything Is F*cked: A Book About Hope, Manson will be onstage exploring this train of thought on a seven-stop trip around Australia and New Zealand, including in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra, Adelaide, Perth and Auckland. Attendees can expect a deeper dive into the principles stepped through in his book, plus practical tips and stories from real life. This is an event to give a fuck about, clearly. Here's the trailer for the film, too, if you haven't yet seen it: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck Live with Mark Manson Dates: Monday, November 4 — Sydney Opera House Concert Hall, Sydney Wednesday, November 6 — Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne, Melbourne Thursday, November 7 — QPAC Concert Hall, Brisbane Saturday, November 9 — Canberra Theatre Centre, Canberra Sunday, November 10 — Festival Theatre, Adelaide Monday, November 11 — Perth Concert Hall, Perth Friday, November 15 — Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre, Auckland Mark Manson's The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck Live tour hits Australia and New Zealand in November 2024, with ticket presales from 10am local time on Wednesday, July 17 — except in Melbourne, where ticket sales start at 11am local time on Monday, July 22. Head to the tour website for more details.
