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Megan Wilding's first full-length play is having its world premiere at Kings Cross Theatre
Many McElhinney and Jacqueline McKenzie star as sisters in this STC production of a hit British play
Singles with a ‘must love dogs’ dating criteria should head to this relaxed series of afternoon group dates
The Grounds is dishing out the sugary goods in this colourful Easter laneway installation
The commemorations in Parramatta begin precisely at 4.12am, with a wreath-laying at the RSL Club, before the pre-dawn ANZAC Day march sets off from 4.15am. A...
Pay your respects at Sydney’s biggest dawn and sunset services
Dee Why hosts one of the biggest dawn service on the northern beaches, starting at 5.30am. A raised mainstage and large television screens along Dee Why...
The Castle Hill service is held at the Centenary of ANZAC Reserve, just opposite Kellyville Plaza. The service commences with a march at 5.50am, with...
More than 20,000 Sydneysiders join this eastern suburbs service by the beach, reflecting in pre-dawn darkness before watching the spectacular sunrise....
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The Birdcage Sydney at Whirly Bird in Pyrmont is a weekly Saturday night dinner and burlesque show.
Café del Mar is launching in Bali mid-2019, and you have the chance to experience it like a VIP at their Grand Opening event
The Australian Brandenburg Orchestra and Brisbane-based performance company Circa are back to deliver a collaboration which mixes 16th and 17th-century music with acrobatics and contemporary circus. English Baroque with Circa is the third installment from the two companies, who previously teamed up to create the Helpmann award-winning performance French Baroque in 2015 and again in 2017 with Spanish Baroque to a sell-out crowd. The dazzling combination of contemporary movement with 500-year-old English masque and theatre music will premiere at the Canberra International Music Festival before heading on to Sydney's City Recital Hall, arguably one of the only concert spaces in the city with acoustics superb enough to match the tumbling commotion on stage. Artistic director Paul Dyer of the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra and Yaron Lifschitz of Circa have created an inspired pasticcio with works from English composers Henry Purcell, John Playford and John Dowland woven together into one piece. Celebrated soprano Jane Sheldon, who starred in The Howling Girls with the Sydney Chamber Orchestra in 2018, will be sharing the stage with Circa acrobats and the Brandenburg musicians. Tickets start from $30, with $41 seats for under 30s. The Sydney season is only running for six shows before moving on around the country. If this performance is anything like the previous offerings from the duo, this daring collaboration will enchant from start to finish.
Here’s where to get your retail therapy on the Cenny Coast.
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Sydney-based online plant boutique Leaf Supply has just launched nationwide shipping, along with a new range of botanical-themed pots, accessories and plant seeds. The small business, founded by florist Sophia Kaplan and plant and design store owner Lauren Camilleri, has made the green-gift giving game a little more interesting, with three pretty evergreen plants selected every month available to send your loved ones. The live plants are still only available for those in the Sydney metropolitan area, but they’ve stocked their website with a collection of goods available to be sent all over the country, like secateurs, watering cans, plant food, stands, and plant magazines. They’ve also curated a few special pieces that will certainly elevate your gardening interests like handmade ceramic pots, a bronze water mister, and candles. All products get a seasonal upgrade, so it’s definitely worth coming back to see what’s new. Want to start from the seed up? Co-founder Kaplan has put together special seed packs that are perfect to gift someone who’s just starting out in the gardening game. The packs are also beautifully illustrated, thanks to designs by Edith Rewa. With expertise and care guides provided for each plant they sell, even those with the blackest thumbs can’t get it wrong.
The Australian Brandenburg Orchestra and Brisbane-based performance company Circa are back to deliver a collaboration which mixes 16th and 17th-century music with acrobatics and contemporary circus. English Baroque with Circa is the third installment from the two companies, who previously teamed up to create the Helpmann award-winning performance French Baroque in 2015 and again in 2017 with Spanish Baroque to a sell-out crowd. The dazzling combination of contemporary movement with 500-year-old English masque and theatre music will premiere at the Canberra International Music Festival before heading on to Sydney's City Recital Hall, arguably one of the only concert spaces in the city with acoustics superb enough to match the tumbling commotion on stage. Artistic director Paul Dyer of the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra and Yaron Lifschitz of Circa have created an inspired pasticcio with works from English composers Henry Purcell, John Playford and John Dowland woven together into one piece. Celebrated soprano Jane Sheldon, who starred in The Howling Girls with the Sydney Chamber Orchestra in 2018, will be sharing the stage with Circa acrobats and the Brandenburg musicians. Tickets start from $30, with $41 seats for under 30's. The Sydney season is only running for six shows before moving on around the country. If this performance is anything like the previous offerings from the duo, this daring collaboration will enchant from start to finish.
A fantastical Easter garden will pop-up in Shangri-La Sydney's Lobby Lounge throughout April with executive pastry chef Anna Polyviou. And what could be better than to fill said garden with delightful treats and heavenly cocktails? If you have always wanted to savour Polyviou’s signature desserts, Easter Garden High Tea will feature her cracked egg tart, indulgent chocolate pots, sticky hot cross buns and an elevated version of the old-school soft serve in a waffle cone. Accompanying these morsels, you’ll be able to drink a popcorn caramel Martini or a Spritz. Flutes of Chandon and Veuve Clicquot will also be on offer if you prefer bubbles. This special afternoon out costs from $75 per person or $55 for kids. If you’re looking for a more grown-up affair, experience the Cocktails in the Garden. Starting from $55 per person, you’ll be handed a picnic basket full of savoury bites, as well as a Belvedere Spritz, a flute of Chandon or a popcorn caramel Martini. Inside the basket, there will be cured meats, Australian cheeses, olives, fluffy quiches and fruit to accompany your refreshing cocktail. Want something a little fancier? For $85 per couple, there’s the option to drink a flute of Veuve Clicquot or Chandon. If you’re going all out, $115 shared between two will keep the cocktails or sparkling free-flowing for 90 minutes. Easter Garden High Tea is available in three sessions throughout the day starting at 11am, 1pm and 3.15 from April 1 to April 29, and cocktails in the gar
Following a show which took last year’s Edinburgh Fringe by storm, British comedian Mark Watson returns to his adopted homeland and makes his long-awaited return to Sydney with a show about empathy. The Infinite Show is about the sorry state of the world and the comedian offers some suggestions for what we can do about it. The former Edinburgh Comedy Award Panel Prize winner brings his trademark twitchy charm and witticisms to answer the big question — if other people make up 99 per cent of the world, why can’t we understand them? He does this by asking audiences to write down something they find hard to empathise with on cards which come into play later in the show. If you’ve managed to catch Watson at one of a string of previous sold-out festival performances or spied him on telly in many UK panel appearances you’ll be familiar with his improv and high-joke rate. Watson's success in Australia goes way back to 2006 when he won a Barry Award for best show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, with his last Sydney Comedy Festival appearance in 2012 for the Information Show. He’s also published eight novels, so you can enjoy more Watson well after you’ve left the theatre laughing. Catch the show fresh from Melbourne on April 23-24 during this year's Sydney Comedy Festival.
Something special is going on at the Winery for a limited time only until Sunday May 5. Schweppes are taking over the venue with Bar Schweppes, a month-long pop-up celebrating their new range of Signature Series Mixers and craft soft drinks. They have teamed up with three of the country’s best industry talents to create the first range of mixers advised on by professional bartenders in Australia. Enter: Charlie Ainsbury, the former co-owner of This Must Be the Place in Darlinghurst; Jess Arnott, top three in MasterChef Australia 2015 and ex-Chula in Potts Point; and Chris Hysted, three-time Australian Bartender of the Year. This gang have helped to come up with some elevated and versatile mixers that will appear in these sensational cocktails at $15 a pop, as well as at Dan Murphy’s stores nationwide. Photograph: Supplied Blossom and Tonic This cocktail uses Schweppes Signature Series Bright Tonic, which is made during a 12-month process and less bitter on the palate than your average tonic with the addition of orange oil, lemon oil and Javanese cinchona bark (which adds the necessary quinine to make tonic water). The tonic is then added to gin, blanco vermouth and elderflower cordial, and the whole thing is topped with lemongrass and baby’s breath to deliver a refreshing and citrusy kick to the classic G&T. This one is a perfect starter to ease your way into the rest of the list. Photograph: Supplied La Vida Collins A Tom Collins that switches out gin for white rum,
Queenstown really packs a lot in. Not only is it the largest ski resort in New Zealand – during the peak season the picturesque Southern Alps are dotted with snow bunnies like kiwifruit on giant white pavlovas – it’s also the home of bungy jumping and all manner of heart-stopping adventure activities. Food and wine lovers are well catered for, too.
After you’ve waded through the trenches of meetings, technical issues and creativity blocks at work, you’ll often have the urge to head home and veg out. But we implore you to aim for more glorious heights than a night in front of the telly. We’ve found some brilliant new theatre, unusual performance pieces and live music that you won’t be able to stop singing along to. And we’re particularly excited about this stellar list of artsy after-work adventures, as it has a worthy focus on powerful female creatives. They’ll be setting up in some of our favourite indie theatres and community arts hubs, so you can come see them after work and spark some creative flows that may inspire your working self the following day. And besides the entertainment and inspiration factors, there’s also the proven benefit of interations with the arts improving your wellbeing day to day and into the future.
Ranting and pedantic aren’t usually two words which are associated with being hilarious, but UK comedian Paul Foot’s absurd musings have won him multiple awards, including the BBC New Comedy award and voted Best of the Fest in 2013 at the Sydney Comedy Festival. He’s back on our shores to deliver his new show, Image Conscious in April. In his new show, the fast-talking comedian will move from topics like the reality of a soft-shell crab to the administrative and logistical nightmare of hosting an orgy with his trademark jerky movements and sometimes frantic delivery. It’s an odd prospect, watching a man work himself up into a frenzy over iceberg lettuce, but the combination is comic gold. His previous turn in Sydney was in 2017 with ‘Tis a Pity She’s a Piglet, which marked 20 years in comedy. Throughout that time, he’s become known for his rejection of anything pop culture (think leather motorcycle jacket, paisley tie and a pants and belt combo that may never have been in vogue) and his surrealist view of the world. If you’ve never had the pleasure of seeing Foot live, a quick google search will send you a myriad gala spots which will either have you chuckling or wondering if he’s a little bit insane. You can also catch him on various UK TV and Radio slots, including Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Would I Lie to You, 8 out of 10 cats and The Infinite Monkey Cage. Be sure to nab a spot at his Sydney show Image Conscious on April 26-28.
ANZAC day is fast approaching and if you're yet to make plans, why not get down to the Keg & Brew in Surry Hills, the DOG Hotel in Randwick or the Four in Hand Hotel in Paddington? All of the pubs will be hosting two-up games and drink specials all day. The DOG Hotel and the Keg & Brew will swing open the doors and get started at 10am, but if you’re up for an early start, the Four in Hand opens at a cheery 9am, making it the perfect place to come straight from the dawn service. Enjoy burgers, schnittys, fish and chips, and a special bacon and egg roll with hash brown for $12 at the Four in Hand. All the pubs will be pouring schooners of Hunter Valley's Tempus Two wine on tap, VB and Stone & Wood beers for just $6.50 all day long, and there will be a chance to win a Stone & Wood or Tempus Two Hamper on the day. It's not ANZAC day without two-up and the DOG Hotel and Keg & Brew will kick off the betting from noon. If you want to start earlier, the Four in Hand will start flipping the coins from 11am. The DOG Hotel and Four in Hand will take bookings for their lunch service (from 10am-1pm) and dinner service (from 6pm until late). Find out more about ANZAC Day at the Keg & Brew, the DOG Hotel and the Four in Hand Hotel.