City Hub 11 September 2014

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September 11, 2014

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Where theo Locals G to A Guide t& Pyrmon g9 Ultimo P

one business two votes?

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Photo: David Shoebridge/Facebook

Shooters and Fishers business voting legislation set to pass the upper house

“One vote, one value” rally at Sydney Town Hall on September 6

BY Lucia Osborne-Crowley The controversial Shooters and Fishers proposal to reform business voting procedures in the City of Sydney is likely to pass the upper house on Wednesday, September 20 as City Hub goes to print.

Backlash against the proposed bill has increased as the Victorian Local Government Review Panel this week announced recommendations surrounding possible reforms to the conduct of local government elections around Victoria. The findings of this review, however, do not apply to the City of Melbourne.

A statement from Victorian Local Government Minister Tim Bull’s

office stated, “...while the review’s recommendations relate to all 79 local governments, the Government recognises the City of Melbourne is governed by its own Act of Parliament with a unique electoral system.”

The findings therefore do not apply to the City of Melbourne’s policy on business voting, on which the Shooters and Fishers bill is modeled.

Despite this, politicians leading the opposition to the bill have used the report as evidence that the City of Sydney should not adopt the City of Melbourne’s business voting procedure.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore has called on

NSW Parliament to reject the bill in light of these findings.

“This review has debunked the claim that the Melbourne business voting model works and sends a strong warning against adopting a system that Melbourne may soon abandon,” the Lord Mayor said.

“It would be unthinkable for the NSW Government to now push through these undemocratic and deeply unpopular changes.”

The panel also found that despite compulsory business voting and the allocation of a possible two votes per business, only 58% of businesses were actually voting in the City of Melbourne

and the number of businesses voting twice had been diminishing since its inception.

Independent Member for Sydney Alex Greenwich has also called on NSW Parliament to reject the bill following the panel’s announcements.

“What has been touted as the ‘successful’ Melbourne Model is now nothing more than the ‘Melbourne Mistake’,” Mr Greenwich said.

“The government has been pushing major changes to Sydney’s local government elections including two votes for business, council managed elections and electoral rolls, and permanent non-residential electoral rolls, all because Melbourne does it.”

“Now the Victorian Local Government Electoral Review has recommended a new model that respects one-vote-one-value.”

Debate on the Shooters and Fishers bill will begin when Parliament sits on Wednesday, September 10th.

In the lead up to the parliamentary debate, a ‘One Vote, One Value’ rally was organised at Sydney Town Hall on Saturday, September 6th to protest the bill.

Speakers included the Lord Mayor, NSW Labor Leader John Robertson, Alex Greenwich MP, David Shoebridge MLC of the NSW Greens, Local Government NSW President Keith Rhoades, Independent City of Sydney Councillor Angela Vithoulkas, Secretary Unions NSW Mark Lennon and actor Robyn Nevin.

The rally attracted hundreds of attendees and featured a regular “one vote, one value” chant. “(The Shooters bill) is aimed at a Council that is corruption free, debt free and with a strong financial position, and at a time when there is a stench of developer donation corruption hanging over the State

Government which is being played out in ICAC day-by-day,” the Lord Mayor said during her address to the rally.

“In stark contrast, I lead a Council that does not make decisions based on what’s inside brown paper bags!”

A range of different views in opposition of the bill were voiced.

Cr Vithoulkas, a small business owner, spoke in support of business franchise but decried the lack of community consultation on the Shooters Bill and argued it will champion the big end of town at the expense of small business.

Ahead of this week’s parliamentary debate on the issue, Liberal Party Government Whip Gareth Ward said he supports the bill but is unsure of the notion of allowing two votes per business.

“Everyone from Alex Greenwich to Clover Moore to myself seems to accept that business should have a say, no-one seems to dispute that. If we accept there is a franchise, it should be made as easy as possible as it is no different from the residential franchise,” Mr Ward said.

David Shoebridge MLC argued that businesses should not have a franchise at all.

“Corporate Australia already has a stranglehold on the major parties in this country and we cannot allow them to get a formal stranglehold on local government elections,” Mr Shoebridge said.

“One vote, one value, and never for corporations.”

Mr Ward said he has reservations about the provision of two votes per business.

“I know some people have reservations about this; I also have reservations, but those reservations aren’t enough for me to vote against an overwhelmingly positive bill.”

A history of the business vote Published weekly and freely available Sydney-wide.

Copies are also distributed to serviced apartments, hotels, convenience stores and newsagents throughout the city.

Distribution enquiries call 9212 5677. Published by the Alternative Media Group of Australia. While every effort is made to ensure accuracy of content, City Hub takes no responsibility for inadvertent errors or omissions.

ABN 48 135 222 169 Group Publisher: Lawrence Gibbons Group Manager: Chris Peken Group Editor: Lucia Osborne-Crowley Contributors: Joshua Tassell, Christopher Harris Arts Editor: Leigh Livingstone Live Music Editors: Chelsea Deeley & Alexandra English Dining Editor: Jackie McMillan Advertising Managers: Toni Martelli, Robert Tuitama & Mike Contos Design: Joanna Grace Cover: Chris Peken & Joanna Grace Email: question@alternativemediagroup.com Advertising: sales@alternativemediagroup.com Contact: PO Box 843 Broadway 2007 Ph: 9212 5677 Fax: 9212 5633 Web: altmedia.net.au

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BY Lucia Osborne-Crowley The question of whether businesses should have a say in local government elections in Sydney has been the subject of parliamentary and community debate for several decades.

The debate began in 1995 when the Carr Government passed a series of “franchise amendments” to the City of Sydney Act 1988, the original legislation that sets out voting procedures for the City.

The reforms introduced the inclusion of a non-residential electoral roll for the City of Sydney.

Under these reforms, business owners were allowed to vote in local elections as long as they were Australian citizens and, importantly, their actual place of residence was within New South Wales. Another criterion was that the business owner paid at least $5000 per year in council rates.

The Act was amended again three years later, with the passing of the Local Government Legislation Amendment (Elections) Act 1998.

This Act specifically legislated against the notion of allowing any business two votes in local elections.

Where the previous legislation had allowed large firms to nominate two electors, the Amendment ensured businesses of all sizes were allowed only one vote each.

An inquiry into election procedures in the City of Sydney led by Commissioner William

Fisher AO QC recommended that non-residential voting should not be compulsory. In 2003, the City of Sydney Amendment (Electoral Rolls) Act 2003 was introduced to reflect this. This Amendment clarified that any eligible nonresident wishing to vote in City of Sydney Council elections had to volunteer to do so.

The Amendment also clarified that the non-residential electoral roll would lapse after every local council election.

These procedures were then addressed in 2013 with the creation of The Local Government Taskforce, which was established by then local government minister Don Page, to review non-residential voting procedure.

A Joint Standing Committee was then established to investigate the use of the business franchise in the 2012 City of Sydney elections. The Committee was chaired by Government Whip and Member for Kiama Gareth Ward.

This committee recommended compulsory business voting and the notion of two votes for businesses, as per the Melbourne model.

“The Committee recommends that the Government introduce the model used by the City of Melbourne for the City of Sydney in all its respects including the deeming provisions and the compulsory voting aspect for electors on the nonresidential roll.”

Business voting procedures have had a long and fraught history in many other western nations.

Compulsory business voting has been eliminated in Canada and New Zealand following parliamentary inquiries into local government elections.

The vote was discontinued in Canada in 1993 because of “a desire to apply the one person, one vote principle” and because “the effectiveness of the vote on addressing business concerns was arguably minimal”.

The provision for land owners to vote in New Zealand local elections was discontinued in 1889.

One of the only big cities to retain a strong franchise for businesses is the City of London. Business voting in the City of London has proved particularly controversial. Under the London legislation, businesses are allocated votes based on how much they pay in rates: the smallest contributors get two votes, with the largest businesses allocated seventynine votes.

This has come under fire increasingly in recent years, with UK journalist and author George Monbiot calling it “plutocracy, pure and simple”.

Business voting was repealed in all of the United Kingdom, excluding the City of London, in 1969.

The City of London Corporation is the last major city to retain a strong business franchise

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Westconnex route to undergo further changes

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and air quality monitoring for the new route would begin later this month.

This announcement did not involve any specific information about the new route, apart from that it may run underground and north of the Princes Highway.

This announcement, while being welcomed for its reduced impact on Tempe’s environment, has raised concerns about the residents who will be impacted by the alternative route.

Greens Councillor David Leary expressed his concern that the change would mean Tempe and St Peters residents would be negatively impacted.

“It’s great that the Tempe recreation area and wetlands look like being spared from destruction by a motorway overpass, however, the new route raises new concerns for local residents,” he said.

“Exploratory drilling is set to start in Tempe, Sydenham and St Peters, north of the Princes

Highway this month. This means they are looking to drill a tunnel under people’s homes in this area.”

“A tunnel under this area means exhaust stacks spewing highly concentrated fumes into the air along the route. It also means a large area will be necessary for any entry-exit portals into the tunnel.”

A WDA spokesperson said the revised route had not been finalised.

“This design has not been finalised. Later this year a planning application will be lodged for

Photo: westconnex.com.au

BY Lucia Osborne-Crowley Marrickville Council has welcomed news that the NSW Government will change the WestConnex route to accommodate community concerns.

The original WestConnex plan would impact the Tempe Lands, Tempe Reserve and Tempe Wetlands. Backlash from council and community group Tempe 2020 led the state government to this week recognise the significance of these areas and announce a revision of the WestConnex plan accordingly.

Marrickville Mayor Jo Haylen expressed her relief at the state government’s response to community concerns.

“This is an important win for the inner west community. Marrickville Council and community groups such as Tempe 2020 have lobbied energetically and persistently that Tempe Lands must be preserved for the local community,” she said.

“It’s a huge relief that the community concerns have been noted.”

The state government and the WestConnex Delivery Authority have agreed the areas involved “have important recreational, environmental, social and economic value” and would therefore begin planning a new route to avoid impacting these areas.

Marrickville Council was informed that exploratory drilling

An artist’s impression of the WestConnex tollway

Stage 2 and expressions of interest will be called to design and construct this section of WestConnex.”

“Large sections of WestConnex will be built underground, limiting the impact of properties affected on the surface.”

The tollway’s impact on residents has been the subject of great discontent since its inception.

The WestConnex Delivery Authority have been accused of failing to properly inform residents of the impact of the road on their homes, in one case incorrectly informing residents their homes would be acquired by the NSW Government.

Tempe 2020 Convenor Pat McInerney said he is pleased Tempe Lands will be spared but remains concerned about the impact of the alternative route.

“This is a win that will be cautiously celebrated,” Mr McInerney said.

“We are still getting a road that nobody wants.”

“I would say the inner west more broadly do not want WestConnex to happen and now we have to ask more questions about the stacks and infrastructure for the alternative route.

Mr McInerney also said he feels the state government has botched WestConnex planning to date and will continue to do so.

“I don’t this this government knows what they’re doing,” he said.

“This branch of the government is out of control. I don’t think they have a strong plan for this road.

They’ve got a lot of money but they don’t seem to know what to do.”

Mr McInerney said he thinks it is unnecessary to raise concern about the alternative route as yet because he does not think the road will ever become reality.

“I don’t think this road will ever get made. I think it’s a red herring,” he said.

“I don’t think this government could deliver it. They’ve bought houses they no longer need, they’ve put families through huge amounts of stress unnecessarily. I don’t think we will see this road built under the Baird Government, or under any future government.”

“I don’t think there’s anything to worry about because I just don’t think they are capable of delivering this project.”

Mayor Haylen said she would continue to ensure that residents were not adversely affected by the tollway.

“My number one commitment is always to our residents and I have consistently worked with all Councillors to fight to protect the interests of the community,” she said.

“I remain highly concerned about any adverse impacts of the proposal on local residents and will continue to campaign vigorously for the best outcomes for all our community.”

BY Lucia Osborne-Crowley The controversial sale of the Italian Forum Cultural Centre may not go ahead after all, according to the centre’s administrators SV Partners.

When previous owners Italian Forum Limited (IFL) went into voluntary receivership in late 2013, SV Partners was appointed to take over administration of the property.

SV Partners has been in conflict with Leichhardt Council over the terms of the sale ever since.

Leichhardt Council, headed by Mayor Darcy Byrne, has backed a bid from local Italian community group Co.As.It, while the business community and SV Partners have decried this decision for its lack of financial viability.

During the conflict, SV Partners received three bids for the purchase of the Cultural Centre – one from Co.As.It, one from the Glorious Gospel Church (GGC) and one from the Australian Chamber of Music. The highest bidder was the Glorious Gospel Church, however council determined Co.As.It to be more suitable and has decisive power based on its being the largest creditor.

This week, however, SV Partners told City Hub they were considering a fourth option.

SV Partners said they were considering an offer from the Glorious Gospel Church to bail out Italian Forum Limited. This bail out

option would mean the centre would not be delcared bankrupt and its assets liquidated and sold; instead, the GGC would provide the money to allow IFL to continue operating the centre as it was previously.

This bail out would allow GGC some executive power over the centre without it being officially transferred from the hands of IFL. A source who preferred not to be named told City Hub he believed an agreement had already been signed to this effect.

According to an unnamed source, the option of a financial backer bailing out IFL was offered to potential buyers originally, but no buyers wanted to go down this path and instead began negotiating

a sale. It seems now GGC has had a change of heart and is taking up the offer to bail out IFL. “There is a fourth proposal on the table and that is to re-capitalise the Forum through the Glorious Gospel Church who are backed up by the Bathurst Baptist Financial Services,” said Stephen Hathway, executive director of SV Partners.

“Until the current court case is heard, we cannot act on any of these proposals. We hope that common sense will prevail with council and they will realise the best option is to re-capitalise.

This option would see the confirmation of a contentious 10-year lease signed between SV Partners and the Actors Centre

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Australia. The lease was signed in 2013 but was declared void, an issue that is currently being addressed in court.

If the IFL is bailed out, the ACA will retain their tenancy.

ACA director Dean Carey said he supported the option to re-capitalise the IFL. “Bailing out the IFL is a very exciting proposition for a number of reasons.”

“As a not-for-profit organisation, IFL can attract funding to underwrite public use of the venue, which a private organisation might not be able to do.”

Mr Carey is confident the ACA will benefit from the GGC bail out.

“We have a terrific partnership with the GGC,” Mr Carey said.

“It feels like a win-win.”

The bail out would, however, exclude the possibility of the centre being managed by Co.As.It. Leichhardt Mayor Darcy Byrne remains adamant the centre should be sold to Co.As.It. “The unified position of council is that Co.As.It will be a terrific purchaser for the centre.”

“We want to make sure that a cultural centre that was built in public money and the blood sweat and tears of local volunteers remains in the hands of a not-fot-profit organisation and remains a home for the Italian community on Norton Street,” Mayor Byrne said.

news in brief City of Sydney Council advised against live streaming A motion to live stream all City of Sydney Council meetings was voted down by a rescission motion on Monday, August 25. The motion was originally put to Council by Liberal Councillor Edward Mandla. It was passed on its initial hearing, but Deputy Lord Mayor Robyn Kemmis requested a rescission motion, at which the vote was reversed.

Council then proceeded to request a preliminary study into the feasibility of live streaming council meetings.

The Corporate Finance Properties and Tenders Committee produced this study this week. “Few councils (less than 5 per cent of LGAs in Australia) are currently live streaming Committee and Council meetings. Additionally, in recent years, a number of Councils have ceased or rejected/not progressed proposals for the streaming of Council and Committee meetings,” the committee concluded. Based on these issues, as well as issues of cost, the committee recommended that council reject the live streaming

Students and seniors unhappy with Opal

BY Joshua Tassell Students and pensioners have hit out against the NSW Government for the lack of a concession option for the new Opal cards.

Over 700,000 Opal cards have been issued with approximately 3 million journeys taken each week on Opal cards. Following the September 1 retirement of 14 paper ticket types, Minister for Transport Gladys Berejiklian urged customers to remain patient. Yet the students and seniors are questioning the wisdom of withholding both the Silver Opal Concession Card and the Gold Opal Seniors and Pensioners Card.

NSW Greens MP and Transport spokesperson Dr Mehreen Faruqi warned that many NSW public transport users will be worse off under the Opal system.

‘The rollout of Opal has been characterised by a lack of coordination, technical glitches, advertising splurges, and leaving commuters worse off,’ said Dr Faruqi.

‘Money-saving concession tickets are being abolished when the Minister herself has said that the concession Opal Card won’t be available until 2015. This will hit low-income earners and students in particular.’

National Seniors NSW Policy Advisory Group Chairperson Gabriel Donleavy believes that the lack of Gold Opal Senior and Pensioner cards disadvantages the elderly in NSW. ‘Older people tend to rely more on public transport to get around, especially if they no longer drive. The delay of the rollout of the Gold Opal Senior and Pensioner card may make it difficult for older people to remain active and mobile within their community,’ said Ms Donleavy.

University of Sydney student Union board member Alisha Aitken-Radburn voiced her concerns that students were being left behind by the Opal rollout.

‘It is very frustrating for students that the concession Opal has not been released yet. Students are ready to move over to the new system and the fact of the matter

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is that we are being left behind.”

“The lack of a concession Opal reinforces that students are the last on the governments list of priorities. There are over 30,000 students who commute to the University of Sydney alone everyday – we deserve better.

Action for Public Transport, a NSW public transport advocacy group, criticised Transport for NSW for placing the Gold Opal Seniors and Pensioners card at the end of the queue.

‘We understand the only reason [it is not available yet] is that it got put to the end of the queue,’ said Action for Public Transport spokesperson Jim Donovan.

‘I don’t know why, as it would be the card requiring the smallest amount of programming given the fare, which is a flat $2.50, unless you can make it less on particular short trips.’

National Seniors also believes that the delay might be technology related.

‘The delayed rollout means that older people who rely on public transport to get around are now required to pre-purchase their Pensioner Excursion Tickets from a registered retailer before they board a bus which is difficult when often times a person requires a bus to get to the nearest retailer.’

National Seniors were apprehensive about a full repeal of paper ticketing.

‘There are a lot of older people who do not have the internet or who do not wish to use the internet or new technologies. This is why National Seniors believes that paper tickets for pensioners should continue to be available for purchase on public transport even once the Gold Opal Senior and Pensioner card is rolled out.’

‘Minister Berejiklian has not given us a date for the Gold Opal Senior and Pensioner card release, except to expect it later this year.’

Pensioner Excursion Tickets can be bought in bulk for single use to minimise the inconvenience of the lack

of Opal Card. However, buying in bulk is often not an affordable option for those people on low and fixed incomes.

A Transport for NSW spokesman downplayed the effects of the gradual Opal rollout.

‘The NSW Government has always said the rollout of Opal would be progressive to ensure a smooth transition for customers. More than 750,000 Opal cards have been issued to customers who have taken more than 41 million journeys,’ he said.

‘Later this year the NSW Government will roll

proposal. The matter will be addressed by council when it meets on Monday, September 15.

Going Home Staying Home in review A groundswell of community action has resulted in a formal review of the NSW Government’s Going Home Staying Home reforms. Criticised for using competitive tendering to replace specialist homelessness and crisis services with generalist homelessness services, the reforms have been the subject of heated debate over the last six months.

Last week, the office of the NSW Ombudsman announced that it would be conducting a formal review of the reforms. Among the most outspoken politicians opposing the reforms, Shadow Minister for Housing Linda Burney has welcome the review but thinks more can be done to address the issue. “Women need to be confident that they will have somewhere to go in the horrific circumstances of domestic violence or sexual assault – and that’s why we are welcoming the Ombudsman’s involvement in this review.”

out the new Gold Senior/Pensioner Opal card. The Opal card for concession holders will be rolled out in 2015. By early next year, the rollout of Opal will be completed on all trains, Sydney Ferries, buses and light rail.’

‘Opal does not yet offer a convenient or integrated alternative to paper ticketing,’ said Dr Faruqi.

‘NSW had the opportunity to learn from existing successfully implemented smartcard systems from around the world, yet this Government has squandered this chance of a smooth transition to a truly equitable and integrated fare system,’ she concluded.

Photo: cotansw.com.au

New bid to shake up Italian Forum Sale

want to concentrate on the UK, you’d try and sell Australian assets to someone who is eager to expand their operations nearby.”

Hinman’s speculation on the matter is not the only thing the group are flagging and asking questions about. She is also alarmed by early research into the effects of CSG sites on local areas.

“The fracking mixture is commercial in confidence, so we are not allowed to know the exact ingredients, but we know it brings up radio nuclei which means people are being exposed to radiation.”

Marrickville Greens Councilor Sylvie Ellsmore, believes the NSW Government has to cancel the license because of the lack of parliamentary transparency on the issue.

“There shouldn’t be the danger is if the license is kept on foot and the state government is

currently going through a series of proposals to make it easier for miners to drill. If they’re really keen to stop CSG development in urban areas, the cancellation of the license is an imperative.

“The local community movement has won significant concessions from the state government so far like the exclusion zone. From the Greens point of view we’re trying to move legislation to make it impossible to explore and extract coal seam gas now and into the future.

“Its great we’ve got the protection of the exclusion zone in the short term; the long term goal is to make sure the minister doesn’t have the license to renew drilling in a built up urban areas.”

NSW Minister for Resources and Energy, Anthony John Roberts, did not reply to City Hub’s enquiries in time for print.

Photo: stopcsgsydney.org.au

BY Christopher Harris Questions are being raised about Coal Seam Gas exploration in Inner Western Sydney after community group Stop CSG Sydney held a protest last week to lobby the government to cancel a CSG license for the area.

The issue was flagged last week by community the group who has been carefully watching gas company Dart, who owns the license, after it announced plans to merge with UK company IGas. Dart’s license was effectively null and void after the O’Farell Government introduced a CSG exclusion zone last year, which prevented the company from exercising the terms of its license.

The company was worth more than 1 billion four years ago, now it is worth only 50 million, figures believed to be influential in the company’s move to merge with the larger UK operation.

Members of Stop CSG Sydney believe the NSW Government should cancel the license, even though it is unusable, in order to safeguard against the prospect of the company selling the license on to another energy company and posing a risk down the track.

Pip Hinman of Stop CSG Sydney believes she has joined the dots and is worried about the long-term risks associated with a failure of the government to cancel the license.

“We cannot understand why you would want to sell a license which you can’t drill with, to a UK company that says it doesn’t want to drill outside the UK, unless you want to sell it further down the track to a bigger company when political conditions become more favorable.”

“Since AGL, which is wanting to expand, is in the Camden bordering the area of Dart’s license, I would think that would make sense. If you

Cartoon: Peter Berner

Future of coal seam gas in inner west questioned as gas companies merge

Stop CSG Sydney protest

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My enemy’s enemy is my enemy

By Nick Possum The gang sat around the Brushtail Cafe contemplating Tony Abbott’s increasingly bellicose pronouncements.

“I don’t get it”, Joadja said, polishing glasses. “Tony Abbott is going back into Iraq in order to help the government fight against the Islamic State terrorists, right?”

“Right”, said Old Possum, draining the last swig of cider from his bottle.

“But it seems we’re mainly going to be helping the Kurds, who, basically, just want to break away from Iraq and the Kurds we’re helping include the PKK, which we regard, officially, as “terrorists”, because they’re nationalists who fight for a Kurdish state which includes bits of Turkey – where the government is Sunni islamist – and Iran – which is Shia islamist. Lovely people the PKK, they rescued a lot of Christians and those poor Yasidis. I heard that on the news.”

“Ah, but we’re not going to be

arming the PKK. Oh no. We’re going to be arming the Peshmerga – the official Kurdish army-type persons.”

“So where do the PKK get their arms?”

“From the official Kurds, of course.”

“Oooooh-kaay. But Iran is also against the IS mob, and they’re helping the Iraqi Government because the IS are Sunni terrorists so they – the Iranians – must be our friends and allies, right?”

“Oh no. The Iranians are our enemies, because they want a nuclear power industry, and they might just leverage that to get the bomb, and because they’re against Saudi Arabia, which bankrolls Sunni fundamentalists, including, for sure and certain, Al-Qaeda, IS and the Taliban in Afghanistan. The Iranians are evil.”

“But if the Saudis persistently back Sunni terrorists, they must be our enemies, right?”

“No, no, no. The Saudis are our allies, because they’re allies of the US of A and we’re allies of the US of A ... no matter what. The Saudis are our sort of islamists.”

Joadja pressed on: “Even though, like the IS, they behead lots of people, all the time, for things we wouldn’t even regard as crimes?”

“Oh, that’s just a cultural thing. We have to be culturally sensitive. Anyway, they behead them after a proper legal process. Our glorious American allies kill lots of people in novel and more painful and prolonged ways after due

legal process.”

“But we like the Saudis because they still have lots of oil, right?”

“That would be way too cynical.

Wash your mouth out.”

“But not as much oil as the Russians?”

“Ah ... sorry, what was the question?” Old Possum chuckled.

“Oh don’t worry. Okay, now let me get Syria straight. The Assad Government, who are secular, are locked in a vicious struggle with IS, so they must be our friends?”

“No, no. Assad can’t be our friend because the Russians are backing him, and when the Russians back a secular regime we always back the fundamentalists opposing it. Assad’s is a terrible authoritarian regime.

Assad kills his own people. We follow the US on that one, so we’re sorta backing “moderate” Sunnis heroically fighting Assad while they’re being wiped out by the IS, who are our enemies.”

“Well how about this? IS have just released a video on YouTube saying Vladimir Putin is the great Satan next in their sights. Why isn’t Russia then an ally in the fight against IS?” “Ha! Are you hopelessly thick?

Tony Abbott is leading us to war with Russia. Even as we speak, Australia is marching in battle array towards Ukraine, eager to come to grips with the enemy” “Ha, ha, remember what Bernard Montgomery said about getting into wars with the Russians?” said

Old Stan, the retired colonel, as he mopped up the last dribble of egg from his all-day vegetarian breakfast.

“You mean, Monty of El Alamein? the most famous gay field marshall since Alexander the Great?”

“Yeah. He said ‘There are two rules of war. The first is don’t march on Moscow. The second is, don’t go fighting with your land army on the mainland of Asia’, and then he added ‘I made up those two rules myself’.

Monty was always robustly modest.

“Anyway, here’s Abbott rushing to break rule one, and as for rule two, he might as well have broken that too, because Ukraine is only just over the border from Central Asia and the

terrain is the same.”

“But hang on, like Howard before him, Abbott is big on talk but short on commitment”, I said.

“The commitment against IS has so far amounted to maybe sending some fighter jets to lob bombs on somebody or other from a couple of kilometres up. And notice this: Abbott talks big about going to war against Russia just a few hours before Putin and Poroshenko announce a ceasefire. He may well have known that was about to happen.”

“Perhaps, but remember Vietnam.

Even small, insincere, commitments can put you on the slippery slope.”

Why it isn’t a good idea to march on Moscow.

Adolphe Yvon’s depiction of Napoleon’s 1812 retreat from Russia

The SCAR Project reveals breast cancer reality

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only explains a maximum of 15 per cent of breast cancers.”

One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) predicts that 15,270 Australian women are expected to be with breast cancer this year.

Although the risk of developing breast cancer increases with age, young women are by no means immune. Each year, around 800 women under the age of 40 are diagnosed with breast cancer in Australia.

Ms Renouf says, “While the incidence of breast cancer for young women is relatively low, its impact on a young woman’s life is disproportionately high.

“Women under 40 don’t see breast cancer coming – and the types of breast cancer these young women get are often far more aggressive, with a much poorer prognosis. Young women also have a higher risk of recurrence, metastasis (the spread of the cancer to other organs) and dying.”

The exhibition will be installed in a majestic event space on the seventh floor of the David Jones Elizabeth Street flagship store, where Christian Dior’s first Australian couture show was held in the 1960s.

It is fitting that the first exhibition of the SCAR Project portraits outside of North America should be here in Australia. The project began in Sydney’s Bondi when Mr Jay was inspired to photograph a dear friend after she had been diagnosed with breast cancer at 32.

Ms Renouf says, “We are very pleased to be able to bring the SCAR Project home. Breast cancer knows no borders. Despite the great progress made to date through research, 37 women are diagnosed in Australia every day and seven of these still die.”

The incidence of breast cancer is increasing in Australia. According to the AIHW, the annual number of new cases of breast cancer diagnosed has almost tripled for women (and doubled for men) since 1982.

Ms Renouf says, “Significant inequities in health outcomes have emerged and need to be addressed, especially for young women. NBCF is committed to improving outcomes for these women under 40.

They stand to lose so much, and we as a society stand to lose so much by losing them. The SCAR Project is a powerful vehicle to remind us of the realities of the disease.”

This project is a departure from the world of fashion for Mr Jay, otherwise known for his stylised commercial and editorial photography. Unlike the glamorous, idealised femininity depicted in glossy fashion magazines, the SCAR portraits are raw, honest and uncompromising. Reimagining true beauty, The SCAR Project trades in reality, as

opposed to sugar-coated fantasy.

Ms Renouf notes that Mr Jay grappled with how to best represent the SCAR subjects. She says, “In the early days he opted for beauty as that was his world and also the young women sought it from his lens.

Over time, however, he has quite deliberately shot more gritty images.

“However, whatever he may do and whatever his subjects may have been through, young women are beautiful. They represent an innocence, grace, courage and hope that breast cancer cannot take away, even though some of his subjects have lost their lives.” (CC) Until Sep 21, On Seven, David Jones, Elizabeth St, Sydney, free, nbcf.org.au/theSCARproject Photo: David Jay / The SCAR Project

By Carmen Cita Being a young woman isn’t easy; it’s a complicated juggling act of career, relationships, family and self-discovery. Young, trailblazing women simply don’t have time to contend with life-threatening maladies like breast cancer – but sometimes they are forced to make the time.

A breathtaking exhibition opens this week at On Seven David Jones, offering an intimate glimpse of the surprisingly young face of breast cancer. Shot by fashion photographer David Jay, The SCAR Project is an arresting series of 27 large-scale portraits of brave young women, aged 18 to 35, with breast cancer.

Since Mr Jay started The SCAR Project in 2005, more than one hundred young women have travelled to his New York studio to be photographed. He says, “For these young women, having their portrait taken seems to represent their personal victory over this terrifying disease. It helps them reclaim their femininity, their sexuality, identity, and power after having been robbed of such an important part of it.”

In all of the portraits, as the women bear their mastectomy scars for the camera, their faces are etched with the resilience of the human spirit.

Mr Jay explains, “Through these simple pictures, they seem to gain some acceptance of what has happened to them, and the strength to move forward with pride.”

CEO of the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF) Carole Renouf says that the portraits double as a powerful tribute to the many young women whose lives have been interrupted by breast cancer, and act as a cautionary tale for those who might not consider themselves at risk.

She says, “Breast cancer in young women has been described by doctors who treat it as ‘a tragedy’ and ‘a lethal disease’. For young women, in particular, breast cancer hits them like a train. They tend to think it’s an older woman’s disease and that, if they have no family history, they are safe. In fact, family history

EAT & DRINK

PappaRich It’s been a big month for this fast-growing Malaysian eatery chain, what with picking up Poh Ling Yeow as ambassador, and launching another store in Northbridge, Perth. Here they’re creating queues by drawing the masses out of Broadway Shopping Centre The Argyle Canteen Wood fire pizzas – and quite credible ones at that – are now delighting crowds inside this stylish, please-everyone space. Patate ($15) is the crowd favourite, and what’s not to like about doubling up the carbohydrates with potato, rosemary, garlic, mozzarella and truffle oil on a nicely charred base? On San Daniele ($18), Pizza Chef Andrea Fontana loads premium prosciutto, roquette and Parmesan.The red-chequered tablecloth Italian feel carries through to starters like Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms ($17) and Roast Porchetta ($24) on white bean cassoulet; but the dough’s definitely where the magic is at.While wine (with pizza) probably should’ve been the order of the day, the Woodford Reserve Old Fashioned ($18) proved too hard to pass up.

18 Argyle Street,The Rocks (02) 9247

By Jackie McMillan for a quick, inexpensive feed.After populating your own order pad, tuck into stainless steel thali plates bearing everything from Mixed Satay ($13.90/6 sticks) to ultra-fragrant Biryani Rice (3 Dishes) ($15.90).

Despite coming adorned with sambal eggplant, prawns and slightly dry fried chicken, the yellow rice is the hero.The big hit of cloves, cardamom and spice comes from a new batch being made every 3-4 hours in this high-turnover space. Flaky golden Roti Canai with Beef Rendang ($13.90) might not unseat Sydney roti king Mamak, but it comes within cooee. It’s accompanied by a wicked, hot and garlicky sambal, credible beef rendang and black mustard seed-dotted dhal.Wok-fried flat noodles, Char Koay Teow ($13.50), are popular here for good reason. Finally, with a generous dollop of green tea ice cream, Matcha Rocks ($7.50) doubles as both drink and dessert. It’s just one option from their extensive, illustrated list, though if you wade through the salty mountain of Deep Fried Chicken Skin ($6.90) you might need the more refreshing Tropical Lime ($7.50) to actually quench your thirst.

Shop 5, 185 Broadway, Ultimo (02) 9281 3228 papparich.net.au Malaysian $

5500 theargylerocks.com Pizza, Cocktails $-$$ DARLO, KINGS X & SURRY HILLS Bar H Dining Pickles, Chicken Skin,Wasabi ($12) are a delightful way to cleanse the palate and commence your Bar H Dining adventure into ‘Chuka’ cuisine, celebrating Japanese style ‘Chinese’ dishes. Chewy white mochi (rice cakes) give a nicely textural twist to Eggplant, Turnip, Dashi ($14), while fermented garlic and bacon give Pambula Oysters ($10) an updated ‘Asian Kilpatrick’ edge.The slightly cloudy Uehara Shuzo ‘Soma no Tengu’ ($15/glass) will suit your bivalves, though if you’re a sake beginner, they don’t come much prettier than Houraisen Bi Junmai Daiginjo ($14/glass). Inside this dark

North Bondi Fish fBy Alex Harmon Last year North Bondi Italian closed its doors and no one could imagine this neck of Bondi Beach ever being the same.That was until North Bondi Fish moved in, now it’s a case of Maurice who? Aria’s Matt Moran and Peter Sullivan have brought the good old-fashioned seaside feel back to the restaurant, with a fresh and modern menu. Start with a Beachside Fizz

and moody drinking den, beautifully balanced bar snacks like Cucumber, Black Fungi and Pigs Ear ($13) shine, even if the light level mutes their visual impact.

80 Campbell Street, Surry Hills (02) 9280 1980 barhsurryhills.com Chinese, Japanese $$$ Zushi In 2005 when Raymond Ang first opened Zushi in Darlinghurst, he says they were the only ones doing the inside-out rolls that are now staples on modern Japanese menus.Today his solid, everyday Japanese is now in Surry Hills, and those rolls – including the Tiger Roll ($18) featuring tempura Queensland banana prawns – are still popular. Raymond’s favourite dish, Ika Somen ($15), sees calamari crafted into piles of gossamer ribbons, swished through dashi dipping sauce for a textural adventure.The menu offers up

($16), a very fancy vodka soda with almond syrup; or if you want to feel like a tourist, indulge in the North Bondi Colada ($16), a fun and filling cocktail. Stick to the theme and order the Fish and Chips ($29), which would make the Motherland envious – and without swimming in grease either. Share the special of Mussels ($25), which also gets you a Stone & Wood beer. Beyond the drink, it’s big enough to share with the whole table.The Grilled Prawns ($35) are whoppers but need their own side to balance the salty sea creatures. Somehow the Crab Linguine ($30) gets it spot on, the lime and chilli offsetting the sweet crab flavour.And just because you’re at the beach, it doesn’t mean you have to order ice cream, go for the Cheese Platter ($25) and sink a few more cocktails while you watch the sun go down.

120 Ramsgate Avenue, Bondi Beach (02) 9130 2155 northbondifish.com.au Seafood $$

BAR FLY

RITZ CINEMA Sitting on an all but empty balcony looking down over The Spot on a Friday night, I’m wondering if the street level punters are missing the point. I’m upstairs at the spacious indoor-outdoor bar of the Ritz Cinema and grog is cheap. Inside the marble bar reflects the art deco design of the movie palace. On the balcony, we saddle benches, and we can smoke if we want to, and sip cocktails priced at just thirteen bucks each.

Ritz cocktails have – as you might at least half-expect - movie titles as their inspiration: The Hitchcock, Captain Jack Sparrow, Charlie and The Chocolate Factory. There is a wine list of whites and reds. Before we meander into our film - Boyhood - we settle instead for beers – five-buck Little Creatures. Ask for a plastic cup to take your booze into the movie.

39/47 St Pauls Street, Randwick (02) 9399 5722 ritzcinema.com.au

By Rebecca Varidel

Devon By Night Living up to the hype that the daytime café business generated was always going to be hard… Chef Zachary Tan has kept dinner distinctly casual, dishing up Malaysian-influenced hawker snacks dressed up with the same premium ingredients that make Chef Jacqui Ektoros’ morning menus so special. So you can modern reinterpretations of Japanese dishes: Sashimi Tacos ($17) show off Huon Tasmanian salmon against wasabi granita and wonton chips; while Okonomiyaki ($16) updates the curling bonito-covered pancake with Balmain bugs and a honey-mustard twist.

2A/285A Crown Street, Surry Hills (02) 9380 8830 zushi.com.au Modern Japanese $$ Chica Linda You’d be forgiven for thinking designer Mike Delany dropped a tab of acid before choosing this riotous colour scheme. Begin your mock South American vacation with arepas - dense corn flatbreads stuffed with Smoked Pork Belly ($6) with honey chipotle glaze and pickled ‘slaw.A Panamargarita ($17) keeps your lips tingling with jalapeno and tequila while you tuck into tender Chicken Hearts ($6).

expect to find heady Manjimup truffle slices adorning the Chinese Egg Custard ($29), and fleshy lobster tails slathered with Kewpie mayonnaise and stuffed inside buttery brioche in your individual Lobster Roll ($15.50).

Before you get too carried away, tuck into compelling Spiced Fried Chickpeas ($3) and ponder the concise but cleverly chosen list of alcoholic beverages.The 2012 Mitchelton Marsanne ($17/glass) will suit your roll, but if you’re after a good all-rounder, the Echigo Koshihikari Rice Lager ($12) is a personal favourite. Raw dishes, like ‘Prawn and Scallop Wontons’ ($18) are inviting, playing on the classic som tum with scallop adding a wonderful, textural creaminess; while others, like an oily Pig Ear Katsu ($19), are not quite as successful. Unwrapping charred banana leaves to reveal tender Skate Wing ($23) reminds me that I came to this dark, grungy garage to eat modern Asian street food.With that in mind, the poor man’s ‘snow egg’ of Coconut Jelly, Guava Sorbet and Freeze Dried Pineapple ($11) should make you grin.

76 Devonshire Street, Surry Hills (02) 9211 8777 devoncafe.com.au Pan-Asian, Café $$$

Asado Prawns ($15/3) are also worth ordering, particularly if you avail yourself of the on-table fiery scotch bonnet sauce. Mains come Latino family feast style, so expect juicy Puerto Rican Roast Pork ($35) dripping in colourful tomato, corn and black bean salsa plus a side of Coca Cola Rice and Beans ($9).

The Carrington, 563 Bourke Street, Surry Hills (02) 9360 4714 drinkndine. com.au/chicalinda/ South American $$-$$$ GREATER SYDNEY Spakka-Napoli Positioned at the end of a weirdly shaped arcade and saddled with a quirky spelling of Spaccanapoli (the road that bisects Naples), this restaurant makes you work for your

reward: lightly charred, puffy-crusted Neapolitan pizzas.The Monday/Tuesday special – three “tapas” dishes and a cocktail for thirty bucks – makes me rethink my ambivalence toward limoncello with The Amalfi ($14.50).

Robust namesake Spakka Napoli ($13.50) sangria is guaranteed to complement their terracotta pots of Meatballs ($9.50), Eggplant Parmigiana ($10.90) and my favourite – Pollo Alla Cacciatore ($9.90).The Eggplant Sausage Pizza ($22.90) special is further improved by chilli sauce, which should come with a warning label, or at least imported red-label Peroni ($7) to ease the pain.

Shop 13, 166-174 Military Road, Neutral Bay (02) 9908 7045 spakkanapoli.com.au Pizza, Italian $$

FOOD NEWS After tasting four of The Australian Brewery’s canned beers at home – and liking Extra Hoppy Ale the best for its peppery, citrus notes – I popped into the Rouse Hill brewery for an on-tap tasting paddle. It’s a cavernous space, but word is they’ve just opened up a craft beer bar called the Australian Tap House, which serves up a range of rotating craft beers from around the country, as well as seasonal food. www.australianbrewery.com.au

EER!

www.balmainbrewingco.com.au

B

While we’re talking beer, pencil Sydney Craft Beer Week into your diary from October 18-26. They’re taking over 40 of our favourite beer-drinking venues and putting on 100 events.

There are too many good ones to list, but do keep your eyes peeled for one of my favourite brewers, Stone & Wood, who are putting together The Big Pig Out involving four pigs and all four of their beers on tap… www.sydneycraftbeerweek.com

What I’m drinking right now is the Balmain Original Bock. I’m usually a fan of lighter beers, but this rich, coffee/ caramel beer actually won me over. I’d match it to venison, roast beef or robust cheeses. Plus it’s great to support a local brewer on the very peninsula where the Labor Party was birthed back in 1891…

Finally, if you’re struggling staying abreast of the rapid expansion of Australian beer, pick up a copy of 150 Great Australian Beers [RRP $29.95]

by Crafty Pint founder James Smith. It’ll show you the bottle; tell you what it tastes like; what to match with it; the alcohol level; and a bit of the brewery’s backstory.

www.hardiegrant.com.au

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT After capturing the hearts of Queen fans around the world, the much-loved theatrical creation and full concert experience Queen – It’s A Kinda Magic will tour with a new cast throughout Australia in September.

“The show is giving people, particularly the older generation who had a chance to see Freddie Mercury, a reason to leave the show thinking I remember when Freddie did that,” says Peter Freestone, Mercury’s former personal assistant and official consultant for the show, “It also gives the younger generation a chance to see what us old people keep going on about.”

Freestone was Mercury’s personal assistant for 12 years and there is

no better man to pass down his knowledge and extensive history to the performers of Queen – It’s A Kinda Magic. Giles Taylor will be emulating the coveted and complex role of Freddie Mercury.

“My part in all of this was the details, the different things that I saw from being backstage when I was watching the show and also just to fill in a few gaps for Giles,” says Freestone, “I gave Giles a few hints on what Freddie was like and how he approached the stage.

For Freddie, the stage was home.” (CT) Sep 13, State Theatre, 49 Market St, Sydney, $79.90-89.90, ticketmaster. com.au

Triage! A Nursing Cabaret

photo: Kurt Sneddon, Blueprint Studios

In 2011 when nurses and midwives took industrial action, registered nurse Zuleika Khan had a different response.

She created the hilarious and uplifting one-woman cabaret show Triage! A Nursing Cabaret to present true stories about what it’s like to be a nurse.

Set in the emergency department, with the audience as her patients, Khan uses songs and stories to humorously convey the difficulties of being a nurse.

“As they wait for that inevitable bed that is never in their grasp I just keep telling them stories and singing them songs,” she says. “Comedy opens many doors in someone’s heart and mind.”

The show features everything from

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old jazz classics to upbeat pop, including songs from Peggy Lee, The Eurythmics and Beyonce.

Growing up in a ‘medicine’ family, Khan says that most people who work in medicine have a warped sense of humour to cope with their jobs every day, and she wants to bring this to the stage.

“If you don’t laugh about what you’re doing it’s way too depressing,” she says. “I had to really lose myself before I become the triage diva that you see onstage, I went through a lot of crap, sometimes literally.” (SOC) Sep 14-18,The Imperial Theatre, 35 Erskinville Rd, Erskinville, $28-35, sydneyfringe.com

Europe

When Aussie bloke, Douglas, and European actress, Barbara, have a fleeting fling in Australia they leave it like many holiday romances – they’ll try and “see each other again.” But when hopeful Douglas flies to Europe to see if he can rekindle the affair, Barbara is wary. Over the next 24 hours, they wander through a quintessential European city talking, arguing, flirting and ultimately discovering more about each other.

While the play is ostensibly a romance between Barbara and Douglas, the deeper love affair under the surface is the one of Australia for Europe.

“Australia looks to Europe as the kind

a&e

of mature, cultured civilisation that has much to inform us of,” says director James Beach. “It’s that whole thing about the cultural cringe. We might be starting to shake it off but those issues are still things we talk about all the time.”

Although Michael Gow’s comedy Europe was written in 1987, Australia’s continuing fascination with the continent still makes it relevant today.

“More Australians will have a direct personal experience of what it is to go that far, to see those things, to test the limits of their personality, and have those flings that probably weren’t possible when this was written,” says Beach. (MT) Until Sep 27, Seymour Centre, City Rd & Cleveland St, Chippendale, $25-38, seymourcentre.com

19 STAGE 20 SCENE 21 Sounds 22 SCREEN

Arts Editor: Leigh Livingstone Music Editor: Chelsea Deeley Live Wire: Jamie Apps

For more A&E stories go to www.altmedia.net.au

Kryptonite

“It is such an amazing privilege having Sue in the room with us,” says Mills, “there is so much trust in the writing and direction.” (GW) Sep 11-Oct 18, Sydney Theatre Company, Wharf 1, Pier 4, Hickson Rd, Walsh Bay, $50-99, (02) 9250 1777, sydneytheatre.com.au

Dress Up Attack!

agreed that cultural interaction shouldn’t stop after having children.

Three years on, Dress Up Attack! has moved to a bigger venue, the Sydney Portugal Community Club, and appears it will just keep growing. The event combines art, culture, music and entertainment, with a massive range of events and activities all day.

Musical performances from The Clouds and Grinspoon frontman Phil Jamieson’s WoodenSpoon will create a subversive take on a children’s performance that will have both parents and kids out of their seats dancing.

The Paint What You Hear workshop encourages kids to actively engage with art and music. Participants respond to and interpret contemporary and classical music using crayons and paint. Barbagallo enthusiastically describes that the event “unleashes the imagination and really gets kids thinking about art”; it’s about reinforcing “positive art experiences at early ages”. (ATS) Sep 13, Sydney Portugal Community Club (Fraser Park FC), 100 Marrickville Rd, Marrickville, $35-120 (Family Pass), dressupattack.com

It begins when they meet at University – Lian, the shy Chinese exchange student and Dylan, the carefree charismatic Sydneysider. As the years go by their paths cross and lives entwine, drawn closer until the personal and political collide.

“They have such a great love for each other,” says Ursula Mills, who plays Lian, “but life just gets in the way.”

Set against a background of political intrigue and the spectre of Tiananmen Square, Kryptonite is an unconventional love story. “It’s quite heartbreaking at times,” says Mills, “there are so many obstacles to them being together.”

The lack of a predictable ‘fairytale’ ending is something that obviously appeals to Mills. “Sometimes what you want at 21 is a lot different to what you want when you’re 40 and sometimes what you want you just can’t have.”

Having writer Sue Smith (Brides of Christ, Mabo) in the rehearsal room is clearly an important part of the chemistry. One of Australia’s most treasured screenwriters, she has only recently turned her hand to theatre.

Festival director, Lisa Barbagallo reflects, “I’ve got three boys and I’ve taken them to many kids’ festivals and events over the years, but I always felt there could have been something entertaining for the carer as well as the child.”

Barbagallo found that many of her friends who had “spent years in Sydney going to see bands, had created quite a community” and

photo: Michele Aboud

Queen – It’s A Kinda Magic

Contributors: Alexis Talbot-Smith, Anita Senaratna, Ciaran Tobin, Craig Coventry, Elise Cullen, Georgia Fullerton, Greg Webster, Hannah Chapman, Jamie Apps, Leann Richards, Linda Carroll, Marilyn Hetreles, Mark Morellini, Mel Somerville, Melody Teh, Michael Muir, Michelle Porter, Peter Hackney, Rocio Belinda Mendez, Ruth Fogarty, Shauna O’Carroll, Siri Williams

Matt Okine – Live

LOVEBiTES

photo: Blueprint Studios

out of fear Out of Fear is a new play, a psychological drama, touching on the sensitive issue of men’s mental health. Mental ‘unwellness’ is not specific to men, it’s just that when things go awry the damage can be profound.

Travers is a good guy who does something terrible. He wakes on a dirt track in the middle of the outback where it appears that he is rebuilding his life – the life he left in the city. There is a wife somewhere back in the past – Lara – and a mysterious man with whom he has a series of bizarre conversations. Piece by piece things are revealed and the enormity of what he is grappling with comes into focus.

Matt Thompson who plays opposite Travers (Chris Miller) is conscious of THEATRE &

PERFORMANCE unholy ghosts Death is something that we will all experience but how do you deal with the void left behind from the death of a loved one?

Playwright Campion Decent explores grief in his tragicomedy Unholy Ghosts.

Based on Decent’s personal experience of losing his parents, actor James Lugton, who plays the son, says the play is about a man dealing with the impending and eventual death of his parents.

the sensitivities. “In rehearsals we’ve felt a growing sense of responsibility – if we’re not directly affected ourselves, we’ve got friends and family who are.”

While there are some pretty dark and distressing aspects to the story, it’s also a work that is full of hope. Out of Fear is the search for forgiveness and redemption – a ‘perennial’ of the human spirit.

Thompson says: “This is a man trying to come to grips with the violence within himself, while finding a way to protect and love those precious parts of himself as well.” (GW) Until Sep 14,Tap Gallery Theatre, 278 Palmer St, Darlinghurst, $26, sydneyfringe.com

“I think the experience of the son is one that at some level everyone will experience, everyone will lose their parents one way or another at some point in their life,” he says.

Relatable and moving, Decent explores the portrait of life in both a tragic and comic way, to truly reflect the madness of life.

“Campion has written it beautifully, it’s not sentimental or self-indulgent, actually it’s quite poetic but matterof-fact,” Lugton says.

Bare and intimate, the production aims to connect with audiences individually, and for each person then to take something from it personal to their story.

One of Australia’s emerging comedy starts, Okine says that his stand-up show is about keeping it real and having the opportunity to say all the things he can’t say on the radio.

“The golden rule in doing stand-up is to do whatever you want. If you start worrying about what everyone else thinks is funny, you’re not going to be true to yourself,” he says.

“You feed on the energy in the room, it’s give and take between me and the audience, I’m confident people are going to enjoy it.”

(SOC) Sep 12, Enmore Theatre, 118-132 Enmore Rd, Newtown, $29.90-34.90, (02) 9550 3666, enmoretheatre.com.au

Wooden Horse Productions is bringing an exploration of love and relationships in the critically acclaimed musical, LOVEBiTES. The production depicts a song series of seven short stories about falling in love from both sides.

“It has some extraordinarily powerful stories that were written six years ago now and it explores all sorts of different parts of relationships. In particular it explores the idea of gay marriage being legalised and six years later, nothing has changed on that front,” says director Troy Alexander, “so I think it’s important to re-tell these stories, get more people involved, and have that shown here.”

The original production of LOVEBiTES was staged in 2009 at the Seymour

Centre and played at the Playhouse Theatre in Perth in 2010. The show has also played in London and New York.

Alexander’s recreation portrays a new level of the featured music.

“Peter Rutherford, the composer, has a whole new orchestration. This production will have five instruments; cello, bass, guitar, drums and piano,” says Alexander.

LOVEBiTES aims to shed new light into the audience’s own relationships by letting them observe the ups and downs of others, and ultimately explore what love can be and how it can change over many years. (CT) Sep 10-Oct 5, Hayes Theatre Co, 19 Greenknowe Ave, Potts Point, $42.9049.90, hayestheatre.com

Sugarland Developed over two years in the Northern Territory, Rachael Coopes’s and Wayne Blair’s Sugarland will grace the stages of ATYP. The play is a confronting look at the lives of youth in rural areas, giving audiences an insight into what it is to be Australian and furthermore, what it means to be young.

Co-writer Coopes says: “The story is so authentic and rich that we could only get it from immersing ourselves completely in a remote area.”

Coopes says the experience of writing in the town of Katherine provided extensive inspiration: “It was amazing, when Wayne Blair brought me on board we went up

“I think everyone will take something different away from it, so what one person takes away will be completely different from the person sitting next to them,” Lugton says.

“It’s about the relationships and the words and everything in between.”

(SOC) Until Sep 20, Griffin Theatre, 10 Nimrod St, Darlinghurst, $28-35, (02) 9361 3817, griffintheatre.com.au SYDNEY FRINGE FESTIVAL With over 300 productions across 60 venues covering everything from theatre, music, comedy, cabaret, dance and visual art, the annual Sydney Fringe Festival promises to be better than ever.This year’s program

and it was very gentle and slow, we had no real preconceptions about what it was like up there or what story we were going to tell.”

To gather material Coopes and Blair held workshops in schools and residencies throughout Katherine: “We hung out with children at YMCA groups and skate clubs,” she says, “we also did documentaries talking to the kids on camera, it’s a dream as a writer to have that level of immersion and to be an outsider looking in.” (GF) Until Sep 13, ATYP, Pier 4/5 Hickson Rd, Walsh Bay, (02) 9270 2400, atyp.com.au

showcases the abundance of quirky and alternative culture that Sydney’s arts scene has to offer.

While occasionally the term ‘fringe’ may lend itself to images of esoteric productions held in random back laneways, this year’s new festival director, Kerri Glasscock, is making sure every experience at the festival will be cohesive and illuminating.

As a force of nature in Sydney’s art scene and co-founder of trendsetting underground performance space, Venue 505, it’s important to Glasscock that everyone involved – the venues, the performers and, of course, the audiences – are getting the most out of the festival.After all,

festivals like Fringe are vital to Sydney.

“It provides local independent artists an opportunity to collaborate with other artists, develop and try out new works, and find new audiences,” says Glasscock. (MT) Until Sep 30, various venues, various prices, sydneyfringe.com MACBETH Shakespeare’s classic tale of ambition, betrayal and brutality has been imagined onstage many times. However, director Kip Williams of Sydney Theatre Company’s new adaptation has a keen determination to set it apart from the rest.

In a complete reversal of all theatre norms, the audience will sit on the

photo:Tracey Schramm

There is nothing better than having a laugh, and Matt Okine definitely knows how to make people laugh.

Multi-award-winning comedian and Triple J Breakfast co-host, Okine is taking his hilarious stand-up comedy show, Matt Okine – Live, around Australia.

Based on his personal life experiences, Okine says the show focuses on all the hilarious and weird things that have happened to him.

“I talk about a trip to Africa, crashing in a plane, a very intimate moment that happened in a bathtub, getting into a street fight, everything really,” he says. “Basically my dad called me up a couple of weeks ago and got angry at me for doing a show that might bring shame upon the family!”

stage itself while the play unfolds in the abandoned auditorium. But Williams’ innovative staging design is just one ambitious decision of many.

For Williams, in characterising Macbeth as a villain, the audience begins to disassociate themselves with his behaviour by the end of the play. In STC’s version, there’s an “open-ended identification with the terrible downfall of this individual,” he says.

Despite the blood and brutality of Macbeth, it’s a play Williams believes is relatable to all. (MT) Until Sep 27, Sydney Theatre, 22 Hickson Rd,Walsh Bay, $50-109, (02) 9250 1777, sydneytheatre.com.au 19

THE NAKED CITY

Take the Individual Test!

By Coffin Ed, Miss Death & Jay Katz ‘Individualism’ can be defined as both a moral stance and ideology as well as the quality of being an individual i.e. standing out from that amorphous mass of fellow humans sometimes referred to as the mob.These days achieving individuality in a society dominated by technology and media enforced social mores is becoming increasingly difficult.

Turn your back on the modern digital world and you’ll be labelled a luddite, refuse to act out on Facebook and Twitter and you’ll be branded a social outcast, and horror of all horrors, if you don’t have an email address, then you simply don’t exist.

Here at the Naked City we have devised a quick five-minute test for you to determine whether you can really claim a degree of individualism that sets you apart from the baying, bleating herd. Grab a calculator and keep a running total. If you get to the end of the test with a better than minus score, then you can truly say, just like Jacko once did – “I’m an individual”.

1. You can’t wait to buy the new iPhone 6 (lose 10 points) 2. You have never set foot in The Star casino (gain 10 points) 3. You illegally downloaded Crown Of Thorns (lose 5 points) 4. You are one of Shane Warne’s 1.67 million Twitter followers (lose 20 points) 5. Your own any Coldplay album (lose 5 points) 6. You actually read Fifty Shades of Grey cover to cover (lose 20 points) 7. You just flicked through Fifty Shades Of Grey at Coles or Woolworths to check the titillating bits (lose 5 points) 8. You have never watched X-Factor, Masterchef or Australia’s Got Talent (gain 20 points) 9. You have more than five Facebook friends (lose 10 points) 10. You have no Facebook friends (gain 20 points)

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11. In the past twelve months you have not grown a Ned Kelly beard, tattooed an entire arm or pierced any part of your body (gain 10 points) 12. You purchased any of the following items in the last two years – a Kindle, a pair of skinny jeans, a bottle of Coconut water, an iTunes download of any Coldplay song (lose 10 points) 13. You queued for three or four hours to watch the NYE fireworks (lose 10 points) 14. You have never eaten McDonalds, Hungry Jacks or KFC (gain 20 points) 15. You get all your news from news. com.au (lose 10 points) 16. The last video game you ever played was Star Invaders (gain 10 points) 17. The only apple you have ever purchased in the CBD is from a fruit barrow (gain five points) 18. You have never downloaded an app (gain 10 points) 19. The only designer sneakers you ever owned were the all black Heaven’s Gate Nikes (gain 10 points) 20. You have never googled your own name (gain 10 points) So how did you go? Don’t be too disappointed if you finished with minus figures. We are nearly all creatures of the flock in one way or another. On the other hand if you finished with plus points to spare, maybe it’s time you took a good look at yourself and stopped being so goddamned aloof.

Time to get in that chatroom, shed your inhibitions, embrace your fellow humans and LOL! THE HIT LIST: Sally King has long been one of Sydney’s finest soul and blues singers, fronting bands such as The Champions and The Mustangs.

Catch King with her own hot combo, Sametribe, featuring Paul Berton on guitar September 18 at the community run Petersham Bowling Club from 7.30pm for the ridiculously low cover of only $5 and with not a poker machine in sight. King is not only celebrating her own birthday milestone but it’s the anniversary of the death of Jimi Hendrix, so expect a suitable tribute amongst the set list.

Domestic Departures

Domestic Departures at Chalk Horse Gallery challenges ideas of home to produce a group show that is aesthetically interesting and politically powerful.

In The Re -introduction of Australian Knighthood Abdul Abdullah focuses on a menacing balaclavaclad figure draped by Australian iconography as a caustic comment on modern patriotism.

While Abdullah confronts the public sphere, Jasper Knight examines the personal. The fractured armchair of Single Origin 1 shatters the metaphor of safe-haven with its cubistlike composition.

The third included

artist, James Oram, has contributed a visual narrative in Stack, which uses the ubiquitous lottery scratchie to suggest the fragility of suburban utopia. It concentrates on a hand which scratches a series of losing tickets and uses them to construct a house of cards. It is a beautifully rendered film which connects on a deep level with the ‘fair go’ mythology.

Overall this exhibition is a profound exposition on contemporary Australian conundrums. (LR) Until Oct 4, Chalk Horse Gallery, 171 William St, Darlinghurst, free, chalkhorse.com.au

‘Single Origin 1’ by Jasper Knight

HIJINKS

The tunnels of Sydney Aquarium will play host to an exciting after hours destination – HIJINKS, coordinated by Sydney team The Festivalists, will see local emerging artists, improv comedy and cabaret puppet shows entertain crowds in the underground spaces of the Aquarium.

Festivalists director, Mathieu Ravier, says: “Audiences will go on a treasure hunt, along this journey they will come across various Sydney artists, marine biologists, comedians and drag queens.”

Interactive activities will also be on offer, including a ukulele session, tattoo workshop and a mermaid-inspired life drawing sketch event.

Sydney Aquarium instigated

the idea, says Ravier: “They presented us this offer which is a little outside of the box.

We’re always on the lookout for interesting spaces in Sydney to re-appropriate and remix in a way that they become available to a wider audience, so they can see them in a new light.”

Jurassic Lounge, Sydney Film Festival Hub and Mayhem are among past events held by The Festivalists. They have built a reputation for delivering innovative programming, which, Ravier says, will carry on with HIJINKS: “There’s certainly an appetite for an unconventional cultural experience in this city, it’s a really interesting time to be doing events in Sydney.” (GF) Sep 11, Oct 30 & Nov 13, Sea Life Aquarium, Aquarium Wharf, Darling Harbour, $25, hijinkssydney.com

20 Years of Grace – Merri Cyr This month marks the 20th anniversary of Jeff Buckley’s sole studio album, Grace. As a celebration of this momentous milestone in music history, Blender Gallery is presenting an exhibition of unique images of the famous American singer.

Photographer Merri Cyr followed Buckley on tour and captured the many shades of his personality through the lens.

The showing features both posed and casual shots. One, that shows Buckley staring intently into a lit match, is a poignant reflection on his short life and incandescent career. In another he is reflected leaning pensively against a door frame, whilst a startling black and white triptych captures the intensity and spontaneity of a live Jeff Buckley performance.

The sadness and joy of these pictures illustrate the intimate life of the man yet maintain the charisma and aura of the star.

For fans of Buckley and rock photography, this show is a must-see. (LR) Until Sep 13, Blender Gallery, 16 Elizabeth St, Paddington, free, blender. com.au

‘Electric’ by Merri Cyr

Latham’s Grip – Hey Señorita After two years Latham’s Grip return with their second release, Hey Señorita.

The EP is filled with upbeat high energy alternative rock tracks, sometimes verging on punk, all with generous servings of electric guitar melodies and thumping drum beats.

The standout track is Anyone Else, which slows and brings the energy levels down to allow each individual instrument to be highlighted.This track also has the strongest vocal performance of the record.

Following this up with We Play, the energy level is brought back up with an impressive songwriting effort and a vocal performance in the vein of early Arctic Monkeys. (JA)

5 Seconds of Summer – 5 Seconds of Summer It’s easy to deride music by the likes of 5 Seconds of Summer.

Why? Because it’s shit. Derivative, boring, unexceptional and totally by numbers, this is the musical equivalent of a Big Mac or a coffee from Starbucks.You know exactly what you’re gonna get and you know it’s going to be of low quality.

But since I always try to be balanced, let’s hone in on the good points of this Aussie teen sensation’s debut album. Firstly, it’s doing quite well around the globe – it’s always good to see Australian talent doing well on the world stage. Secondly… umm… nope, that’s it. Sorry. (PH)

Wunder Wunder The chilled positivity of Miami Horror boys Benjamin Plant and Aaron Shanahan’s new project is all about summer and serenity.

Stemming from the duos relocation from Melbourne madness to lax Los Angeles, the sound of Wunder Wunder is a far cry from the band that made them dance legends in Australia.

“Some of the Wunder Wunder songs we were thinking about using for Miami Horror, but then Ben and I decided against it,” Shanahan explains. “So it’s been about figuring out what goes in what bag – if it’s a bit ‘dancier’ and ‘poppier’ then it goes in the Miami Horror bag or if it’s a bit more trippy and connected let’s do Wunder Wunder.”

More than anything, throughout our conversation it’s apparent that Shanahan is in a complete state of emancipation. Though undoubtedly

LIVE WIRE Cannibal Corpse: These American death metal heavyweights will kick off their next world tour in Australia ahead of the much anticipated release of their yet-to-be-named new album.

This show is not for the faint of heart but if you want to have a good mosh be sure to hit this one up.

Thu, Sep 11th, Metro Theatre Castlecomer: This up-and-coming Aussie

proud of his involvement with Miami Horror, it is with Wunder Wunder that he has finally stumbled across his true potential.

All it took was a love of ‘60s and ‘70s psychedelic, and a little meditation.

“Once you open the inspiration you can get a whole song in a night,” he enthuses. “But you can make your creative space by doing things like turning off Facebook and all of that crap and let your brain go for a few hours.

“Most of these songs just hit me, especially the song Everything Infinite which I heard most of it in my head on a train. That’s happening more and more as I’ve gotten more confidence with the writing. It’s like I have cleared up the business in my mind and now I can hear the music.”

Whilst gearing up for their Sydney and Melbourne shows this month,

they have been busy winning over American crowds with their debut album Everything Infinite. But was it a weird feeling going from main stage act back to virtual unknown?

“We’re about the music and about the challenge of it so it was almost because we had been in a band that had done all of that, we weren’t like ‘ohh no one likes us, they think we’re shit’.

“It’s like when you walk into a room at a friend’s party and you know no one,” he continues. “If you stand there and be closed off, people are going to be like ‘who’s that creep in the corner?’

Whereas if you come in and start talking to people, they will respond to you like you’re the cool uncle bringing free beer!”

(CD) Sep 17, Sosueme at Beach Road Hotel, 71 Beach Rd, Bondi, free, beachroadbondi.com.au

Sydney Live Music Guide

five-piece made up of four cousins and a close friend combine elements of folk, pop and rock to create some of the catchiest tunes on the local scene. Hot off the Triple J East Coast House Party Tour the band will kick off their headline tour with a single launch in Sydney.

Thu, Sep 11th, Newtown Social Club Howling Bells: The now London-based Sydney outfit

is returning home in support of the recently released album Heartstrings, which is heavily influenced by folk, blues and Americana. Lead singer Juanita Stein has expressed excitement ahead of the tour: “I’m desperate to tour and connect with an audience again” – it’s safe to say this show will be impressive.

Fri, Sep 12th, Oxford Art Factory

Andy Bull: Following the release of his second LP, Sea of Approval, Andy Bull is hitting the road. He usually creates his distinct pop sound by combining his voice with acoustic piano, synths and other samples, however, for this tour he will be joined by a full band to, as he puts it: “interpret my bedroom productions for the rock stage.”

Sat, Sep 13th, Metro Theatre

Patrick James: Sydney local, James, will be returning to headline duties with his own national tour to promote new record Broken Lines. Since wrapping up his last sold-out tour James has gone on to support some other well known names in the industry such as Pete Murray and Boy & Bea. He’s learnt from these acts and James will no doubt put on a spectacular performance.

Sat, Sep 13th, Oxford Art Factory Devon Sproule: The US-based Sproule will make her maiden voyage down under with a tour in support of album Colours, due for release in late September.

The guitarist/songwriter brings her indie, folk, country and jazz-fusion style that will evoke a mixture of emotions in the crowd. (JA) Tue, Sep 16th, Newtown Social Club

Persian Film Festival 2014

Paddington’s Palace Chauvel Cinema proudly presents the third Persian Film Festival.

Filmmaker Amin Palangi is co-founder of the event alongside Sanaz Fotouhi.This independent cultural film festival is centred on a variety of Persian communities while retaining widespread social and political conscience in the belief that any society can explore these issues while being entertained and educated.

Comprised of six feature-length films distributed over the four days the Persian Film Festival may be young in age but it is old at heart. All of the pieces are set in Iran’s fair scenery excluding Another Day – this French-Iranian collaboration shadows various interactions between people of many nationalities from one sunrise to sunset.

It all kicks off with the highly controversial masterpiece Manuscripts Don’t Burn – a project that not only banned filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof from his own country, but furthermore resulted in imprisonment.

This year’s selection will undoubtedly challenge Australian audiences with its creative subtlety. An event that’s as sociable as it is relevant, the opening and closing ceremonies promise to ignite passionate discussion with a glass of wine in hand.

“We set out to bring together stories that share that human essence and we hope to break stereotypes and forge new connections through film,” says Mr Fotouhi. (RBM) Sep 11-14, Palace Chauvel Cinema, 17 Oxford St, Paddington, $18-35, persianfilmfestival.com

The second Queer Screen Film Festival returns to Sydney, presenting some of the highest quality and award-winning films from around the world.The program consists of nine feature-length films and eight shorts all of which contain non-heterosexual themes.

Paul Struthers, the festival’s director, says the public has changed with the times and films with queer themes are appealing to moviegoers regardless of sexual persuasion.

“Appropriate Behaviour screened at The Sydney Film Festival recently and was a sell-out. Our films cross over to all audiences, gay or straight,” Struthers says.

“We looked at 50 films, collated the entries and shaped a program with a range of films that should appeal to all audiences.”

The Way He Looks is an award-winning film from Brazil that centres on a blind teenager living with strict parents who falls in love with a male friend.

This feel-good film explores homosexual themes through the eyes of the handicapped.

MyMy is a sci-fi short film set around Newtown which features a cast of Sydney queer artists and performers.This documentary contains fictional elements and performance art, featuring two transgender men who play very queer versions of their own characters.

Pride is a warm and witty comedy/drama from the UK which closes the film festival. Inspired by true

for comfort and indeed they do. These are the best moments of the film, packed with some genuine nail-biting tension in the set pieces.

Another thing that can’t be faulted is the CGI special effects that spectacularly take the viewer to the epicentre of a tornado with frightening results.

Overall though, and with an over-wrought soundtrack, this film will appeal more to the younger filmgoer. (MMu) WW

The Immigrant 1921: Ewa (Marion Cotillard) and her ill sister Magda (Angela Sarafyan) arrive in the USA at the Ellis Island immigration centre after fleeing post WWI Poland in “pursuit of happiness”.

Director James Gray bases The Immigrant partly on the experience of his grandparents who immigrated to the USA in 1923, and seems to have faithfully evoked the New York of that time.

Cotillard as Ewa looks beautiful, demure and vulnerable, and

FELONY Joel Edgerton writes and performs in this intense story about a good cop who does a bad thing. A lie snowballs quickly but the avalanche to come is a slower process as he battles his own demons, the senior detective ready to cover it up (Tom Wilkinson), his conflicted wife (Melissa George), and the idealist relentless in his pursuit to expose him (Jai Courtney).

Director Matthew Saville takes us on an uncomfortable but compelling ride, whilst the performances are full of strength and subtlety. (CC) WWW½ PREDESTINATION In this Australian production, American actor Ethan Hawke plays the Temporal Agent who must neutralise the one offender that has

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eluded him through time.

Robert A. Heinlein was one of the genius writers of science fiction and the twin Spierig brothers (writers/ directors/producers) have taken on the challenging task of telling one of his stories visually.

It’s a film that puts a new spin on the familiar tale of the agent working to prevent a terrorist outrage. (MMu) WWW 20,000 DAYS ON EARTH You can immediately tell that cultural icon and focal point Nick Cave had a say in 100 per cent of everything that’s going on in this film. It’s an incredibly intimate portrait of a man, his dreams, his memories, his obsessions, processes, and thoughts.

The storyline, the staging and the soundtrack cannot be faulted; the film also features a slew of Cave’s

events, this film is set in 1984 during the strike of the National Union of Mineworkers. At a gay march in London, a group of gay and lesbian activists raise money for the striking families, but the Union is embarrassed to receive their support.

“The underlying message in these films is to be proud of who you are.We are all unique and are fortunate that we can be who we want to be in the streets, unlike our brothers and sisters around the world,” says Struthers. (MM) Sep 17-21, Event Cinemas, 505-525 George St; Dendy Newtown, 263 King St, Newtown, $19-85 (flexi-5 pass), queerscreen.org.au

Night Moves

Into the Storm

How do you make a subtle film about something as unsubtle as a tornado? ‘Don’t even try’ might be the motto of the Into the Storm filmmakers: the acting is B-grade and the dialogue matches.

Storm-chaser, Pete (Matt Walsh), has a quasi-military armoured vehicle called Titus packed full of technology for the purpose of chasing and documenting storms. There’s an overwhelming sense he and his team are going to get too close

Queer Screen Film Festival 2014

friends and colleagues including Kylie Minogue. Diehard fans will find themselves witness to a side of the enigmatic Cave that the world has hitherto not been privy. (AE) Limited release. WWWWW PALO ALTO Based on the short stories of controversial Hollywood star James Franco, Palo Alto explores the turbulent, confusing and lonely time known as adolescence.

The directorial debut from the next generation of Coppola, Gia, transforms the film into beauty.

Sadly there’s only a semblance of a narrative to follow but considering the film’s subject matter perhaps that’s the point.

Although wonderfully shot, well acted and a poignant insight into adolescence, it’s all been said before. (MT) WWW

Kelly Reichardt’s Night Moves three eco-activists living on the fringes of society plot to blow up a hydroelectric dam in protest against environmental devastation.

But unexpected consequences start to make them question whether a noble cause can justify amoral actions?

This is a film overflowing with taught anxiety. The first half slowly builds with anticipatory tension, as viewers discover each character’s motives and watch them prepare and execute the plan. However, the rising tension dissipates in

the aftermath; sitting at one level, tension alone is not enough to sustain an audience.

Nevertheless, Reichardt and cinematographer Christopher Blauvelt, treat what is essentially a suspense film with the stillness and observational beauty of an indie film – a highly interesting combination.

Jesse Eisenberg, Dakota Fanning and Peter Sarsgaard all give acute performances. Each is aware of their character’s complexities and the burden of their blurred morals.

(ATS) WWWW

she needs protection from the exploitation of Joaquin Phoenix’s sinister Bruno, who gets her a job at the Bandit’s Roost, first as a dancer, then as a prostitute.

The protection comes in the form of Bruno’s cousin Emil (Jeremy Renner) who – like Bruno – swiftly falls in love with her. Naturally this causes tension between the men.

Ultimately, The Immigrant is a reminder of the value of courage and persistence in the face of life’s vicissitudes. (MMu) WW½

THE EXPENDABLES 3 Barney (Sylvester Stallone) replaces his current Expendables team with young blood, but when they’re captured and held hostage the old gang reform and a stunning rescue mission follows.

Star-studded Hollywood heavyweights including Harrison Ford and Arnold Schwarzenegger have been assembled for this mammoth sequel, with Antonio Banderas hilarious as the chatty wannabe-expendable.

After the release of this film’s cheesy predecessor the tired format was revamped, with the elimination of the self-parody and re-introduction of the more conventional style of action film.

This has successfully revitalised the franchise, still remaining comical but

adding an edge that should arrest audiences and secure yet more sequels. (MM) WWW½ A MOST WANTED MAN A banker, lawyer, preacher, and spy combine to provide mystery and intrigue in John le Carré’s A Most Wanted Man. One of Philip Seymour Hoffman’s last movies sees him portray the dissipated Günther Bachmann, the head of a small Secret Service section of dubious legality.

This is a world of suggestive looks, simple words, and deceptive nods.

It is a tale where good and evil are indistinguishable.

A Most Wanted Man is understated rather than sensational and sustaining the suspense over two hours is problematic. It is probably more suitable for an older audience that is willing to wait for an ambiguous

denouement. (LR) WWW THE KEEPER OF LOST CAUSES From Denmark comes a crime sensation that will have audiences at the edge of their seats.

When disgraced chief detective Carl Morck (Nikolaj Lie Kaas) and assistant Assad (Fares Fares) investigate the cold case of a missing politician, they unearth the truth which leads to a race against time. This psychological crime thriller is superbly written, dark, and gritty, in which the mystery and suspense ensures audience interest is effectively maintained. An effective musical score heightens the action.

(MM) WWW½