City Hub 30 August 2018

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The Little Church that needs a prayer

by John Moyle A little understood loophole in the new Development Application (DA) process has been used by a developer to bring a small church in Rose Bay under threat from the wrecking ball.

The battle for Rose Bay’s Uniting Church on the corner of Old South Head and Dover Roads began last year when its owners, Uniting Church of Australia Property Trust, approached developers Endeavour Property to repurpose the church and its adjacent Wesley Hall and ready it for sale.

In an attempt to obfuscate the fact that they are essentially demolishing the church, Uniting are hiding behind a claim it’s for the greater good, saying that they are re-deploying the profits elsewhere, despite the fact the church and its Wesley Hall has been an essential part the Rose Bay community for a half a century.

On the church’s website Uniting claims the “1905 church will be the hero of the development”, which will see everything except some walls demolished to provide for 10 apartments at $3.5 million apiece and three retail spaces and parking.

“The proposal put forward by the applicant is to pretty much demolish 90 per cent of the site and retain a small remnant of the church,” Councillor Anthony Marano, Liberals, Woollahra said.

“The studies done by the Council recommended that the whole site is worth preserving.”

The Rose Bay community has rallied with a change.org petition signed by almost 1,000, and a unanimous vote by Woollahra Council to recommend the church be listed on its heritage register, and reject the DA. However despite the united resistance, new state planning laws may shut the community out.

“It went before the Local Planning Panel a fortnight ago and the current development application by the church was rejected,” Councillor Lucinda Regan, Residents’ First, Woollahra said.

“The church through their property consultant lodged an appeal to the Land and Environment Court so it’s not over yet.”

It seems that there is a gap between listing a property for heritage and having the results whereby a developer can lodge a DA and have it

Rose Bay Uniting Church caught in planning nightmare.

Photo: John Moyle

approved without heritage consideration under the Gateway process.

The Gateway process is whereby Local Environmental Plans (LEPs) start with a planning process in local council and the outcome is assessed by the Department of Planning and Environment effectively removing councils from the equation.

“It makes a mockery out of a heritage listing,” Cr Marano said.

“The problem now is that we have this email from the Department of Planning to say that they are not going to consider the heritage listing while they consider the DA. “We thought that the interim heritage order could bide us some time.”

“The Department received a Gateway determination request from Woollahra Council on July 2018 seeking to amend its local environment

plan and list Rose Bay Uniting Church as a local heritage item,” a spokesperson for the NSW Department of Planning and Environment said.

For many fighting the fight this was the first time that they had encountered the Gateway process and were taken by surprise.

“The Gateway determination has a provision that any DA lodged but not determined before the heritage order takes effect, so they are saying you can have a heritage order, however we are adding another clause that says that we will protect any DA lodged without heritage consideration,” said resident Maria Judd.

As a background the Department’s spokesperson told the City Hub “Councils are required to submit planning proposals for a Gateway Determination request under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act”.

The Gateway process then allows the planning proposals, submitted by a council, to proceed to public exhibition.

Earlier this month Ms Amanda Harvey, Planning’s Director of Sydney Region East wrote to Woollahra Council saying “As delegate of the Greater Sydney Commission, I have now determined that the planning proposal should proceed subject to the conditions in the enclosed Gateway determination”.

In the letter Ms Harvey also said that the LEP is to be finalised within nine months of the Gateway determination.

Local member for Vaucluse and Minister for Heritage Gabrielle Upton was constrained in what she was able to say as the issue of the church’s heritage listing is a current matter.

“I understand the heritage aspects of the Uniting Church in Rose Bay are being considered for a possible local listing,” Ms Upton said.

It is clear from what is happening with the little church on the bay that any consideration of a potential heritage listing of any local building needs to be dealt with swiftly before the developers swoop again.

In this instance Council and its residents were not prepared for the effect of the new legislation regarding jurisdiction over DAs which came into effect earlier this year.

Councils will now need to urgently assign resources to consider which heritage buildings are in the jurisdiction, a problem Cr Marano identifies as being an issue for Woollahra Council.

“We will have to do a complete inventory of our buildings and identify them before a developer gets their hands on them,” Cr Marano said.

“We haven’t had enough staff and our approach was reactive in that we would wait for a DA and then look at the building.”

The heritage for the Rose Bay Uniting Church is in its architecture and extraordinary handcrafted Edwardian woodwork, and as Maria Judd said “This site is an historical emblem of where we have come from”.

Uniting Church Property Trust and Endeavour Property were contacted for a response but did not reply.

Learning from Return and Earn Published weekly and freely available Sydney-wide.

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By Jefferson Lee When Premier Gladys Berejiklian introduced the Return and Earn bottle and can recycling system for New South Wales there were critics of the system.

Six months into the program, I am here as your faithful City Hub delivery boy to give an update from the coal-face.

My involvement is more than superficial, as I confess I have become a true garbologist.

I’m not simply skimming for the ‘low hanging fruit’ of easy access coke cans and beer stubbies protruding from over-full yellow bins clogging the neighbourhood walkways once a week.

Nor merely casually collecting the endless disposable water bottles all with deceptive names like “spring water” this and “mountain valley” which spill out from the shopping centre and drive-in service station bins.

I’m the one who has gone the distance, sprawled on the footpath with the entire contents of a tipped-over bin spread over me like compost, choking on plastic bags which should not be in recycling bins in the first place.

Scrabbling through the bins also raises the question: why are Sydney-siders so averse to recycling properly?

With so much general garbage in yellow bins, and so many recyclables in red ones, local councils are threatening to abolish curb side colour coded bins altogether.

Perhaps consumer laziness would change if every time a council collector found an incorrectly filled bin a $10 fine was imposed, with a $50-100 fine for repeat offenders.

Maybe a “name and shame” list in the local paper would get a bit of pre-sorting happening.

But let’s steer the blame to the so-called corporate sector and the government too.

Despite claims they were going to get on board in a City Hub story last February, no Aldi drink containers can be recycled at the Tomra return and earn collection points.

Ditto water bottles from the 7-11 brand.

Most of the plastic water bottles I collect from bins are either full (unopened) or half consumed at best.

The motto of Australian Capitalism seems to be ‘I consume, therefore I am,’ yet we don’t even consume what we buy.

The Tomra system is stuffed for reasons other than its limited range of acceptable receptacles and consumer laziness.

A novel way to return and earn. Photo: Addison Road Community Centre

It may have created an army of recyclers chasing everyone else’s unwanted drink containers, but there are still too few outlets and the machines are regularly full, with long delays waiting for the trucks from Cleanaway to empty the collection bins, causing frustration in crowded lines.

You can’t recycle milk containers, olive oil bottles, plastic liquid detergent or laundry bottles, shampoo bottles, jars of any

description and a thousand other items that come in plastic, glass or aluminium cans.

Presumably they all go into land fill, are burnt, or crushed and wasted via local council dumps.

And while I’m on my soapbox, why on earth are we importing fancy glass bottles from Iceland, Peru, Greece, Fiji and dozens of other countries with plain water in them?

Anyone ever heard of a tap? city hub 30 AUGUST 2018

3

Waverley targets dumpers

By Linda Hoang Waverley Council is implementing a twelve month trial to clean up illegally dumped waste in the area.

A Public Place Cleansing collection crew will be hired to remove illegally dumped waste from Waverley streets within two to three days of being notified.

Mayor of Waverley Council, John Wakefield, said “Council is very active in the enforcement, education and removal of illegally dumped rubbish.

“As a result of the numerous incidents, there is an impact on the amenity of the public places... especially when these piles of dumped material remain on the footpaths for a long period of time.”

The trial will be rolled out over 2018/19 and will assign a collection crew specifically dedicated to ensuring dumped waste is removed within the specified time frame.

Waverley Council will reinforce its offer for residents to organise three free household cleanups per year where Council collectors pick up unwanted items and materials.

Founder of Bagging up Bondi, Michael Harding, said “When people, especially with the turnover of travellers in Summer, move out and leave half of their apartment on the street...there’s trash everywhere. It’s disgusting how filthy the neighbourhoods of Bondi can get and it blows my mind how that’s allowed.”

Bagging up Bondi is a group of over two hundred people who have contributed to clean-ups around the local area.

“I feel like Bondi has the most trash in any area, people’s apartments are full of junk...and they dump their whole place on the street hoping someone will claim their junk,” said Mr Harding.

“I guess it indicates a lack of care and ignorance from people who are passing through. Fines

Waverley Council managing dumped rubbish in 2016. Photo: Lucinda Creswick

The new Council guidelines mandate any illegal waste is to be removed regardless of whether or not the offender is identified at the time of notification.

This quick removal initiative is to assist the NSW Environment Protection Authority ‘s (EPA) Regional Illegal Dumping (RID) squad who lead investigations to prosecute offenders.

Mayor Wakefield said the Illegally Dumped Waste - Removal and Investigation plan will work with the Council’s Waste Enforcement Officer who actively patrols, enforces and educates local residents on compliance and practise of correctly disposing of waste and rubbish.

Council aims to educate people about how dumped waste can be dangerous, especially when it includes sharp objects, asbestos and glass.

Addressing illegal dumping is also a focus of Council’s Clean and Attractive Waverley strategy which aims to maintain public spaces by disposing of domestic and commercial waste, removing graffiti and maintaining trees, beaches and parks in the area .

“In 2016/17, there were 5,309 illegal waste dumping incidents in the Waverley area. Around 517 tonnes of household waste was illegally dumped and removed,” said Mayor Wakefield.

The Council’s baseline data from the financial year identified five priority areas where 786 illegal dumps were reported, 15 per cent of total incidents in the Waverley area.

The Get Rid of It Right project was implemented in Bondi as a priority area to target illegal dumping of general household items on the kerbside from both residents and short-term visitors.

The project highlighted a lack of awareness of collection services for “bulky waste and problem wastes” and identified a need to promote reuse initiatives as well as reinforce dumping as illegal and how to report it.

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city hub 30 AUGUST 2018

should be implemented but at the moment it’s hard to regulate since people up and leave... landlords need to come up with something so they don’t take the blame but also the Council needs to find a better way of dealing with it, too.”

Council’s trial of bulky waste collection will aim to engage key stakeholders including real estate agents, strata, property managers and various community groups to tackle dumping through education and engagement.

Under NSW regulations, EPA can issue on the spot fines of up to $7500 for individuals and repeat offenders can receive prison sentences of up to 2 years.

A Bondi resident, Daniel Hills, said “The apartment block I live in - and because of the way renting in Bondi works - there’s always new people coming in and out and everyone wants to make the place they’re staying in home.”

“Unfortunately, this means people are swapping out existing furnishings for new ones or just overestimating what they need for the time they wind up staying and then don’t bother finding a way to get rid of those items,” he said.

“It’s easy to see a pile of waste on the street around the corner and think it’s okay to do the same and it’s not just travellers, it’s some of the residents as well, but the landlords only get involved when the Council get involved.”

Council’s Clean and Attractive team will review the Illegally Dumped Waste - Removal and Investigation trial at the end of 2019 to determine future resource requirements and assess the effectiveness of the bulky waste collection within two business days.

Waverley Council will continue to work within Illegal Dumping Prevention objectives of the NSW State Government to ensure the strategy also reduces transport costs and associated emissions, and to minimise waste sent to landfills.

Powerless in the Inner West

By Lanie Tindale Local businesses in the Inner West have suffered from a power outage which hit the area last Saturday at 1pm.

The Soul Bowl cafe manager Kiran Gire said when Marketplace Leichhardt lost power “Nothing was working in the shop, it just went completely dark…

There [were] a lot of people coming out of the shopping centre, so they just asked to sit down with their shopping.

“I couldn’t serve anything, so I served them with water.”

Christine Kelly, who owns The Pharmacy on Marion Street in Leichhardt, finishes trading on a Saturday at 1pm.

Ms Kelly said that if the pharmacy had been open “We would have had no ability to trade at all because we would have had no power...So there would’ve been no computers, no printers, no EFTPOS terminals.

“There was no lighting, so there was no way we could have gone out the back safely to restock either, so that would’ve been really quite inconvenient for us.”

The blackout impacted 40,000 homes and businesses in the Inner West, including the suburbs of Croydon, Ashfield, Leichhardt, Summer Hill, Lewisham, Petersham and Five Dock.

There were also blackouts in other parts of Sydney, including Homebush.

Ausgrid said power cut to 15,400 residents and businesses in Croydon, Ashfield and Five Dock was restored after 2pm.

23,000 other customers in the Inner

West and around Homebush had to wait for their power to be restored until around 3pm.

The Soul Bowl cafe lost business during the two hours the power was out.

“There were a few customers that had their meal already and had to pay, but luckily I had wireless, so they could pay because the ATM wasn’t working,” said Mr Gire.

“The other customers were just sitting, [waiting] to make their order, but they couldn’t.”

Yucheng Yin, who was trading at petrol station Metro Petroleum at the time of the blackout said he had to turn away customers, telling them “Sorry, no power”.

However, a Vinnies volunteer said that the St Vincent de Paul shop has a receipt book, meaning people with cash were still able to make purchases.

“We try and keep trading where possible and just [rode] the blackout out” they said.

Up to 100 sets of traffic lights were inoperable.

Mr Gire said that some of the customers in his cafe “were a bit scared” because the traffic lights at the intersection near Marketplace Leichhardt were not working.

Ms Kelly called the police.

“It’s never happened before, so it’s a bit of a shock. We actually called the police because there was a lot of traffic issues …The traffic was banked up,” she said.

“No-one knew where they were

turning, who was going where…I was surprised [the police] didn’t come earlier [but] they probably had bigger things to deal with than our little intersection.”

Ms Kelly continued “I think any situation where traffic lights don’t work is dangerous, because people aren’t sure who’s in the right.

“Luckily people here in Leichhardt are sensible.”

A spokesperson from Ausgrid said in a statement “The outages were caused due to an unplanned outage of the main transmission inter-connector between Dumaresq in NSW and Bulli Creek in QLD, which caused wide spread system issues across eastern Australia affecting some of our customers”.

Dr Jiangfeng Zhang from the UTS School of Electrical and Data Engineering said “It is usually impossible to prevent outages, but we can try to minimise this happening through regular maintenance to prevent equipment failures.

“For weather caused power outages, it is usually scarce in the Sydney area since the weather is usually mild.

“Constructing more underground power distribution lines at areas with dense populations is typically advised to reduce risk of weather related power outage.”

Dr Zhang explained that while underground lines are safer, the construction cost of overhead lines are much cheaper than underground.

He said that in many UK cities underground lines are “Quite popular…

The Soul Bowl cafe in Leichhardt. Photo: Lanie Tindale

since they have much more chance of a storm than Australia”.

The power outage had a knock-on effect on broader Sydney due to public transport stoppages.

The light rail was prevented from running, and buses and trains were delayed.

Commuters were stranded at Redfern Station as a signal failure caused delays to the T8 Airport and South line, the T1 Western line and the T2 Inner West line.

Frustrated residents took to Twitter to complain. “@Ausgrid the ability to register outage online from mobile is not easy to discover, nor the phone number to

call when you give up trying : ( #outage #blackout #leichhardt,” tweeted @ joelmcourtney.

Twitter user @lansj posted “#blackout #sydney can only have been caused by NSW’s reliance on coal.”

Ausgrid said in a statement to City Hub: “Residents can find updates at any time of the day by entering their suburb into our outage map which can be found at ausgrid.com.au/poweroutages.

We also post all major outages on our social media channels via Twitter and Facebook. People can follow @Ausgrid for any updates.”

Transgrid did not reply to a request for comment.

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city hub 30 AUGUST 2018

5

Opinion

Is Potts Point losing the plot?

by Andrew Woodhouse If small business is the backbone of a community, is Potts Point about to become spineless?

Right before Christmas, high hoardings on the foot path will block access to six cherished local shops at 133 Macleay Street, opposite the Fitzroy Gardens fountain.

Macleay Street is the area’s “High Street”.

It’s where the butcher, baker and candle stick maker do business.

Local shops provide a cornucopia of delights including the Oasis X Emporium’s “paws point” puppy winter trench coats and matching shirts, a twin set for those on the other end of the leash, at 115 Macleay Street.

If they’re undeciders they can trade outfits every second day at The Clothes Library, 17 Darlinghurst Road, or become decidedly delicieux with a St. Tropez éclair, adored by screen goddess Brigitte Bardot for its butter cream and silky orange blossom flower filling, at Douce France Cafe, 7 Darlinghurst Road.

Shoppers can have pictures beautifully framed at Piotr Paprocki’s Right Angles framing, 135 Macleay Street or pick a preChristmas homewares object d’art from Patrice Ribault’s chic Little Candle shop, 133 Macleay Street.

Flaneurs then enjoy hors d’oeuvres with an Italian short black and pizzetta at Macleay Street Pizza, 101 Macleay Street, before perhaps collecting a crackle-encrusted roast pork dinner from Richard’s farm-to-plate butchery and deli at 50 Macleay Street.

The winds of business blow cold in PoPo. Photo: John Moyle

I could go on but my Editor’s injunction, “under five pages” must be obeyed.

So why place this joie de vivre in peril?

As if by witchcraft seven Potts Point stores have closed, all within 150 metres of each other.

One in Macleay Street recently, another rather dramatically with only a few hours’ notice.

Other businesses are under threat because of pre-Christmas façade maintenance at 133 Macleay Street.

This myopia threatens the viability of six shops in a row.

Consider this, Toni and Guy hairdressing: gone.

The Good Times ice-cream shop and Dot’s Delicatessen: for lease.

Hazhaz menswear: closed.

The Marcelle Café, a local community hub: died.

Its lease was not renewed and the building’s Owners’ Corporation issued a blunt letter stating its outside tables and chairs would become “awkward” to maintain during lengthy pre-Christmas, non-urgent, awning works.

This is despite the outside area being subject to a separate council/cafe footpath lease and not part of the strata building.

Locals came in one morning for their daily dose of caffeine served with Tommy’s smile to be greeted by a locked door and newspapers glued to the inside of the door.

The café’s effervescent manager, Tommy, seemed to be in shock when he spoke to City Hub. He said the café closed for two reasons: the perfunctory letter from the Owners’ Corporation, received without any warning, advising of on-street hoarding

and maintenance works and because the shop lease expired.

He said “I fell in love with the area, and patrons reciprocated…I felt part of a community which cared.”

An email of 17th August from Alldis and Cox, Strata Managers, and its Managing Director, Stuart Cox, acting for the Owners’ Corporation Executive Committee, claimed works are urgent, three years overdue and said tenants should contact their landlords, not them, adding “We don’t believe access to retail outlets will be unreasonably affected”.

Local retailers vehemently disagree and are unconvinced.

They asked to see the engineer’s report but were refused.

They claim their letter from Alldis Strata gives them the right to respond to Alldis.

Their first shot fired in the war, a large petition, was slapped back with the ambiguous comment “There will not be further correspondence other than in this manner”.

The mega-hoarding will protrude 2.5 metres from shop windows directly across the 2.5 pavement, imprisoning shops.

The scheme will block Christmas window shopping, limit direct pedestrian access and deliveries to shops, reduce pedestrian traffic flow generally in the area and force potential shoppers onto the road or the other side of the street.

Two mature, majestic heritage London Plane trees on edge of the 2.5 metre zone are threatened from root damage.

Patrice Ribault from the Little Candle Shop said “Our much-needed Christmas

trade will be traduced and our future viability threatened.

“Sales will be shattered - we rely on this period of trade to help sustain us throughout the year.

“We may have to close. Works should be postponed until January 2019.”

Sha Sha, proprietor of the colourful Oasis X Emporium nearby is also indirectly affected.

She said “We need our small businesses to give life and buzz to the area.

“It gives Potts Point its point…the awning and façade works should happen in January.”

Piotr Paprocki, owner of Right Angles framing shop, also subject to high hoarding barricades was adamant “January is the time for maintenance, not prior to Christmas.

“Shop owners are already under siege from rentals, per square metre some of the highest in Sydney.”

Requests for postponement of works were put to Alldis in a letter dated 14th August 2018.

Stuart Cox replied “The Owners’ Corporation will be pressing ahead with the works as notified.”

Only one owner in the strata block spoke to City Hub saying she believed works should be postponed in fairness to retailers.

It all seems like a two-fingered salute to the community who are now upping the ante and taking their battle to Town Hall.

With Potts Point the centre of all rumours the Fountain Cafe may be the latest to catch the contagion.

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Annandale business effort to help Aussie farmers

BY Lisa seltzer We all know the current drought affecting Australia has hit farmers hard, and with no relief in sight (the Bureau of Meteorology forecasts a Spring likely to be warmer and drier than normal) Australians across the nation are stepping up to help the nation’s farmers battle through.

Organisations and individuals are pitching in and donating money, groceries and bales of hay, but to be effective this support effort needs to be ongoing.

Bringing aid to the hardworking farming community is no easy task, as those affected by the drought are spread throughout the country.

Locally, furniture company Annandale Interiors are playing their part by donating a beautiful item of furniture to be auctioned by Australian charity Aussie Helpers.

Aussie Helpers is a charity supporting hundreds of farming families, ensuring their wellbeing and survival through good and bad times.

The money raised from auctioning the chair, inspired by the Australian country lifestyle, will support farmers in Dubbo, NSW. Aussie Helpers founder Brian Egan announced last week that the charity will also be giving $2 million dollars

in prepaid Visa cards to 500 farming families struggling to survive the worst drought in memory.

Mr Egan said the stricken families will be given $4,000 each to help pay for living costs.

Many of his volunteers had been hearing from farming families living in third world conditions, with no income and unable to pay their utility bills or register their vehicles.

The eye-catching and uniquely designed Annandale Interiors chair will be auctioned at a charity gala dinner at the iconic Le Montage on the waterfront in Lilyfield on 21st September, along with other items donated by local businesses.

Farmers from struggling country towns will be in attendance and will share their stories, along with prominent local figures who are supporting the event.

Tickets to the dinner can be purchased through Annandale Interiors.

Owner Kim Thompson has been supplying Inner West households with modern classic furniture and homewares for over 30 years, and she was determined to do her part for the drought-stricken community.

“The drought is not going away, and we need to support our fellow

Australians in the country in any way we can,” she said.

Ms Thompson herself has lived in country NSW and has regular longstanding clients from as far away as Wagga Wagga and Orange.

“When you help people choose the pieces of furniture that will live in their homes for years, you become involved not just in the design of their homes but in their lives as a whole,” she said.

“We can’t just leave country people to deal with these issues, those living in the city need to help where they can as well.”

A family business, Annandale Interiors specializes in individual, unique and bespoke furniture and interior design, with pieces featuring textiles, leather and timber materials.

Many of their items such as maps, war memorabilia, saddles and leather and timber furniture are Australian designed with a classic homestead feel.

Furniture for the living room, dining room, home office, balcony and outside spaces showcase the Australian lifestyle, with hints of the French Riviera.

Ms Thompson described the company’s vision “We help people achieve their dreams with furniture”.

“You can’t underestimate the importance of the design of a space that you live in day in, day out,” she said.

If a customer can’t find the furniture

Kim goes country. Photo: Supplied

they dream of, then Annandale Interiors can solve the problem by custom designing and building their vision just as they imagined it.

Annandale Interiors has a history of donating to Indigenous and wildlife charities both local and national, and

supporting their customers and the community at large is part of their ethos.

“Giving back to the community is part of what we do, and we will give our ongoing support to the farmers.”

Annandale Interiors is at 38-42 Parramatta Road, Stanmore.

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www.resinject.com.au Yurong Lane will be temporarily closed to traffic from Crown Street to Crown Lane on Monday, 10 September 2018 to Friday, 5 October 2018 from 7:30am to 5:30pm (Subject to Sydney Water completing works at the intersection of Yurong Lane and Riley St Darlinghurst).

The lane is closed to allow for construction activity.

Traffic controllers will be in attendance at Crown Street and Crown Lane corners to provide local access.

For more information please contact Danny on 0415 717 171 city hub 30 AUGUST 2018

7

FEATURE

Laughter On The Fringe

By Jamie Apps The Sydney Fringe is the perfect conduit to highlight Sydney’s unique artistic voice because the city’s creative scene is ‘brave, new, imaginative, challenging and experimental’ as our artists continue to break free from the shackles of genre stereotypes and norms.

Looking over the expansive festival program there are three artists in particular who personify this idea of shattering the genre stereotypes.

Annisa Belonogoff blends the often dry, regimented world of fitness with the loose, free flowing world of comedy in her show Dear Future Ex-Husbands. Sam Wade uses his theatrically infused stand-up comedy performance, Inner World, to tackle the inner workings of his own Aspergers afflicted mind.

And finally Chase Paradise has taken her past life working in the sex industry as a stripper and created the comedy show Ho Life Or No Life which gives a voice to the voiceless.

When speaking to all of these artists the importance of Fringe festivals in the development, and even the viability, of these shows was a prominent common thread.

For Chase Paradise her first foray into the more conventional arts world was during a Fringe festival.

“I used to tell jokes to the other strippers backstage in the change-rooms which was when some of the most prolific burlesque performers saw and gave me the opportunity to host their show Baby Got Back at the Perth Fringe,” Paradise told City Hub. “Fringe Festivals have been infinitely important to my development as a comedian so there was no doubt in my mind that I would bring my show to the Sydney Fringe.”

As the Sydney Fringe Festival continues to grow and evolve it still has one main focus to ‘highlight, amplify and promote the work of local Sydney artists to the world.’

Annisa Belonogoff. Photo: Supplied

Sam Wade - Inner World. Photo: Supplied

While Annisa didn’t use a Fringe festival to break into the comedy world she still views them as a crucial component to the development of her upcoming show.

“The Fringe gives permission to an artist to explore all of the things they want to explore, which is where we get great art. Having Fringe has allowed me to realise that I’m not pushing against a stereotype and I’m allowed to explore the artistry.”

Brand new artists and shows also reap a plethora of benefits by debuting during the Sydney Fringe. As Sam Wade explained his show likely wouldn’t have been viable without the environment created by the Fringe.

“I don’t think this show would have been

possible without the Fringe because I don’t think I would have had the confidence to just put it on randomly by itself. The fact that there is a Fringe going on around with lots of other shows is great, I love the fact that this isn’t in isolation.”

Throughout their journeys the Fringe has provided all of the artists with an endless stream of support, be that through simple ticketing frameworks, deadline reminders or more in-depth creative workshops and marketing support.

Even with all of this support perhaps the most rewarding and helpful element the Fringe provides is simply the solidarity and encouragement which comes from the creative community involved within the festival.

VARIETY - THE CHILDREN’S CHARITY & EMPIRE TOURING PRESENTS

As Sam explained, “I want the other artists and the people that I work with to go and succeed, even if we are competing for the same thing, because if one of us gets through then it opens the door for the rest of us. That’s a feeling I’ve had reflected back from a bunch of other comedians as well, there is a lack of ego around [the Fringe] we’re all simply aiming to make the scene the best it can be.”

One final benefit which the Sydney Fringe brings to the table for the participating artists is the buzz the festival generates within the general public. Not only does the Fringe Festival encourage artists to experiment but it also encourages audiences to experiment with new shows.

“People are seemingly more willing to take a risk on art that they wouldn’t normally see,” explained Chase Paradise before adding, “The Fringe is proof that just because you don’t normally see certain people it doesn’t mean they’re not there or important.”

Sydney Fringe Festival Sep 1-30. Various Venues and Prices.

Tickets & Info: www.sydneyfringe.com Annisa B - Dear Future Ex-Husbands Until Sep 1.The Factory Theatre, 105 Victoria Rd, Marrickville. $10-$15+b.f.

Sam Wade - Inner World Sep 19-21.The Newsagency, 74-76 Pyrmont Bridge Rd, Camperdown. $20-$25+b.f.

Chase Paradise - Ho Life Or No Life Sep 19-22.The Factory Theatre, 105 Victoria Rd, Marrickville. $25-$30+b.f.

fringe

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Resonant Bodies Lucy Dhegrae in 2013 in New York City. She wanted to provide singers with the opportunity to break away from the constraints of singing and display what they thought was most artistically interesting about their own particular voice. Co-curator of the Australian Resonant Bodies Festival, Jane Sheldon said, “The Resonant Bodies Festival is a collection of singers who all approach the craft of singing very differently and who often come from different musical backgrounds. What you end up with is a really amazing exploration of what the human The international music festival which voice can do.” celebrates the diversity of vocal music is coming In order to select the singers, Sheldon followed to Australia for the first time to present six four guidelines. To represent a range of people at different vocalists across two nights. different stages of their career, to have a good Resonant Bodies was created by American singer, mix of Australian and international artists, to

The Maids

have different distinctive artistic visions and artists from diverse backgrounds.

“It should be an exploration for absolutely everybody, from my experience in New York, I found it was just so interesting to hear my colleagues use their voices in ways that are different to how I do. We all sing, whether its lullabies to our children or in the shower, or performing. Everyone has a voice and a sense of what it feels like to use it, so what we’re sure the audience will experience is an exploration of the instrument we all have in our bodies, shown by a team of real experts, just how versatile that instrument can be.” (JM) Aug 31-Sep 1. Carriageworks, 245 Wilson St, Eveleigh. $35-$60+b.f.Tickets & Info: www.carriageworks.com.au

REVIEW: The Turk In Italy

Findr

Rossini’s The Turk In Italy directed by Simon Phillips, is a colourful frolic of mistaken identity, slapstick humour and brazen innuendo. Set in a seaside town near Naples in the 1950s - it’s all sunny days, sandy shores and short lived romance under the roof of the Joan Sutherland Theatre.

Prosdocimo, a self aware poet slogging it out as a barman, pieces together the plot for his play inspired by the marital problems of grumpy Geronio and his bored younger wife Fiorilla (any resemblance to real people is purely coincidental, the poet reassures us). The foreigner Selim, steps foot on shore, sets his eyes of Fiorilla and is immediately smitten.

However, gypsy Zaida who happens to be the ex-lover of Selim, is also in town. Shenanigans ensue, the women fight over the sleazy and supposedly irresistible Selim (which is frankly puzzling) and the whole shebang is resolved with a rather sudden denouement.

The centrepiece of Gabriela Tylesova’s set, the revolving two storey Bar Geronio evokes the nostalgia of an ice cream parlour, decked out with a juke box and the Jetsons-esque decor.

Vintage purple suits, gaudy blue drinks, snake skin

boots and bright bathing suits make for a whimsical visual romp, pairing seamlessly with the series of lighthearted romantic mishaps.

A few familiar faces return to reprise their roles from the 2014 production; bass-baritone Paolo Bordogna flaunts Selim with bravado and showmanship, Samuel Dundas returns as Prosdocimo scribbling the plot of each unfolding

Act with post-modern wit, and Anna Dowsley’s love-sick Zaida is clean and measured. Stacey Alleaume booms with power and passion as Fiorilla and Warwick Fyfe who plays opposite as bumbling Geronio snags the laughs.

As a product of its time, the story draws on tired gender stereotypes and the outdated trope of women fawning over incompetent men who don’t particularly treat them very well. The characters appear consciously superficial and anachronistic in 2018. Geronio laments that it is “impossible to find a woman not riddled with flaws” and though in jest, the insults “Turkish terrorist! damn doner kebab!” don’t sit as being all that clever or funny. Nevertheless, the production is propelled by the energetic performances of the cast and the playful score under the baton of Andrea Molino.

Expect boisterous farce, a colony of jiving Elvis and Marilyn impersonators and the feeling of almost getting a tan even though you’re at the opera and no where near an Italian beach. (SH) Until 1 Sep. Sydney Opera House, Bennelong Point, Sydney. $46-$348+b.f.

Tickets & Info: www.sydneyoperahouse.com

Findr is a new Australian contemporary musical that looks at how we connect in a digital age and live alternate egos online. Musical lovers will be treated to a highly unusual modern experience, written by Adrian Kingwell.

Both Troy and Emma are stuck in their isolated worlds trying to deal with their relationship that’s building online. They do a thing called Catfishing; they lie about who they are on the internet, set up fake profiles, say they are something that they’re not. In Findr, they are Catfishing to make themselves more appealing to each other. Emma says she’s a designer, which she’s not, and Troy says he’s in IT but really he works in a bank.

Findr has a unique format, with the two characters singing about the online dating app. What we hear in the songs are the text messages they send each, without them actually being in the room together.

“It’s art reflecting the world around us, how we love and how we meet. It’s really cool to be using the music form to discuss these things,” said Abe Mitchell.

“It’s a chance to swim around in a world young people are really familiar with,” Mitchell added. (MS) Sep 5-8. Depot Theatre, 142 Addison Rd, Marrickville.

Tickets & Info: www.thedepottheatre.com

Photo: Keith Saunders

a&e

19 STAGE 10 SCENE 11 Sounds 11 SCREEN

Arts Editor: Jamie Apps For more A&E stories go to www.altmedia.net.au and don’t forget to join the conversation on Twitter at @AltMediaSydney

Glitterbomb presents The Maids in the Downstairs Theatre as part of the Belvoir’s 25A initiative. Based on the novel by Jean Genet and translated by Bernard Frechtmann, The Maids sees two maids fantasise about killing their mistress, acting it out each night over and over. One evening, fantasy becomes reality and the pair decide to enact their deadly plan.

“One of the things that make this play fun for creatives to do and audiences to see is that it is so many things in one,” said Carissa Licciardello, the director of The Maids. “It’s part-psychological thriller and part-revenge fantasy, and it’s extremely theatrical so it plays with the things that we know and love about the theatre in interesting ways.”

Featuring virtuosic performances from Skyler Ellis, Amanda McGregor, and Alexandra Aldrich, the play explores the damaging effect of the patriarchy and the destructive nature of power.

“To be doing the play now is to deal with the way women are surrounded by so many images of what they are supposed to be or aim for,” says Licciardello. “If you are young, beautiful, skinny, white and wealthy, you have access to a huge amount of power – but even then, you’re not the one ultimately holding the power.”

“That’s what these women are grappling with – trying to get it right for so long and the toll that it starts to take on you when you cannot get power by playing by societal rules.” (ES) Until Sep 15. Belvoir St Downstairs Theatre, 25 Belvior St, Surry Hills. $25+b.f. Tickets & Info: www.belvoir.com.au

Contributors: Emily Shen, Irina Dunn, Jade Morellini, Mark Morellini, Mel Somerville, Olga Azar, Rita Bratovich, Sarah Pritchard, Shon Ho, Riley Hooper, Erika Echternach & Lili Sekkai, Joseph Rana, John Moyle.

city hub 30 AUGUST 2017

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Larry’s Odyssey

The team of Vashti Hughes and James Winter who brought us the hit production Mum’s In now have a new and larger than life character called Larry Olive who they are unleashing on the public ion the production of Larry’s Odyssey.

Loosely based on Homer’s Odysses Larry is a pompous, egocentric, deluded, camp and slightly larger that life theatrical voice and acting teacher who just can’t get it.

Larry’s quest is to land a TV role that will give him fame and fortune, and yes, he wants to retire to the Greek island of Ithaca.

On his journey Larry finds himself lured by Sirens to the Oxford Hotel, jousts with a one-eyed theatre critic before he meets his fateful moment at a casting agency to see if he can win a spot on the telly.

The audience plays the role of the Greek chorus and voice class as Larry tries to define his quest for a new life.

Love him and hate him all at the same time, Larry is a creation not easily forgotten.

(JMo) Aug 31-Sep 1. East Sydney Community Arts Centre, Corner of Palmer & Burton Street, Darlinghurst. $20

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city hub 30 AUGUST 2018

THE NAKED CITY

BRING ON THE SPAG POLITIK!

With Coffin Ed Part Shakespearian, part soap opera and part Dan Brown, the drama that played out in Canberra last week has left just about everybody gasping for fresh air.

With a Federal election looming large it’s surely time to abandon conventional politics and look to a new paradigm free of dogma, 2GB talk back and the ranting possums (i.e. the after dark ideologues) of Fox News.

Movements that ridicule conventional party politics are nothing new and tend to come and go – a bit like Australian Prime Ministers. The Monster Raving Loony Party of the early 80s, headed by Screaming Lord Sutch, was clearly a reaction to the iron fisted rule of Margaret Thatcher. Whilst the Party still survives these days it’s never had the same impact since its eccentric leader Sutch took his own life in 1999.

In Australia this kind of political satire, propelled by an injection of good natured anarchy, has been surprisingly thin on the ground – given our irreverence for politicians in general. The shortlived ‘Deadly Serious Party’ of the 80s promised to dispatch an army of killer penguins to

protect Australia’s coastline from foreign invasion. However after an initial splash of bemused media interest it was deregistered in November of 1988 for not having the required 500 members. And herein lies the problem for anybody wanting to put together a low cost political party to contest the next Federal election.

Not only will you have to rally at least 500 members, navigate a minefield of bureaucratic paper work, allow twelve weeks for processing and fork over a $500 fee – you can only have six words in the name of your party. The latter does seem limiting, particularly if you want to incorporate some punchy editorialising into your moniker. For example – “The Party Advocating The Removal Of Tony Abbott From Federal Parliament And His Reassignment As Special Envoy To The Vatican” (hey, he always aspired to be the Pope!). In other words a party that somewhat naively believes in stable government and the absence of back room sniping.

The Church Of The Flying Spaghetti Monster Australia is an informal group that eschews dogma and promotes the philosophy of ‘pastafarianism’. Pasta is regarded as the holy communion of the

Church, gifted by his “Noodleness”, with even gluten free allowed in certain sects.

Part of an international movement they state “the only dogma allowed in The Church Of The Flying Spaghetti Monster is the rejection of dogma” and hold to a belief that “the universe was created by the ‘FSM’ while very drunk, the effects of which can be seen in the resulting imperfections and contradictions in the universe.”

Members are often seen sporting a colander on their heads and controversy has arisen world wide when various countries have rejected drivers licence photos of devotees wearing the symbolic headwear.

Unfortunately they would probably have too many words in their party name to ever register as a political party - nor would they ever want to, given their rejection of dogma. Still if you can rake together $500 and assemble a Meet Up group of 500, the door is wide open for you to start your own dogma and policy free political party. It might sound absurd but at least your absence of any doctrine would confuse and bamboozle the Fox News possums as well as leaving the shock jocks speechless. Anybody for a bowl of spag and bol.

Human Non Human The Human Non Human exhibit at the Powerhouse (now often referred to as The Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences) is thought-provoking and loosely based on the theme of what it means to be human, and possible future iterations of that meaning.

The four pieces within the exhibition reflect on food, sex, work and belief, but each seems to have little connection amongst themselves. Although clearly much intellect has been expended on this project, it can feel a little over-curated, and the works, reduced to a theme, are sometimes more curious than enriching. One must look hard to see how a Bundt cake made from ballistic gel (used to test

weapons’ impact) influences our humanity, but the gel is made from animal carcasses and somewhere along the line, clever people grasp what

it all means. But it is food for thought (ha ha), and there is interest in that. It’s just a struggle to see how the sex life of plants as delineated in

this show through Linnaean terminology connects to videos about computer graphic image generating studios in India.

The latter is probably the most compelling of the four installations, exploring how Indian workers realise Hollywood movie dreams, and includes a short about such a graphic artist who falls in virtual love with one his creations, making a virtual world for the two of them to inhabit. But maybe these works don’t need to be connected, or even make much immediate sense. They are, after all, and thus far, human creations. (OA) Until Jan 27. MAAS, 500 Harris Street, Ultimo.

FREE-$15.Tickets & Info: www.maas.museum

By Jamie Apps After forming in 2006 Mammal rapidly rose through the ranks of the Australian music scene before “imploding” and taking a six year hiatus.

When City Hub spoke with frontman Ezekiel Ox we discussed the circumstances surrounding the band’s implosion.

“We weren’t getting along in any way, shape or form,” reflected Ox, “When you’re in a band it’s not like a normal job where you can clock in and clock out, instead you live with it constantly and because there was complete disfunction we couldn’t agree on anything. So we weren’t getting anywhere.”

Perhaps the biggest contributing factor to the bands initial demise was simply age, as every member of the band was in their early 20s during this period, and as Ox put it; “Is there anyone more capable of being a dickhead than a boy in his 20s?”

Having now taken some time away

Mammal

from Mammal all of the band members have matured and saw the chaotic global political landscape as the perfect opportunity for the band to return.

“We’re at a very volatile point in history,” said Ox before adding, “We find that there was always

plenty to talk about in regards to politics but it has certainly gotten worse since Mammal broke up.”

Alongside the tumultuous political landscape the band are also now flush with inspiration simply thanks to their increased maturity and experience levels.

With this added self confidence and experience the band have been able to forego outside producers for their latest wave of songwriting and recording. Ox believes this has given them “more ownership” over the material without losing any of the dynamism of their sound.

Mammal are currently in the midst of a frantic touring schedule which has seen them traversing the country, big town to small. Ox is confident though that they have the legs to last.

“We’re like a comic book hero, we seek out injustice around the world and rock out in the face of it.”

For fans in their next target city, Sydney, Ox said they should be on the lookout for a “more assured and confident show” because the band now “think’s things through before acting.”

Sep 7. Manning Bar, Manning House, Manning Rd, Camperdown. $29.30-$34.60+b.f.

Tickets & Info: www.manningbar.com

The Kooks Let’s Go Sunshine

British pop-rockers The Kooks return with their highly anticipated new record Let’s Go Sunshine. The new record sees the group continue to stake their claim to the throne of the British indie poprock scene.

Let’s Go Sunshine develops a more mature and sophisticated sound across it’s 15 track offering whilst remaining solidly within the indie Brit-poprock genre.

Across it’s lengthy duration the album offers a multitude of singalong moments, and even the occasional moment where the listener feels an urge to jump and dance.

Despite these stimulating moments the record fails to leave an indelible impression or a single song which will remain timeless.

Enjoy Let’s Go Sunshine for the enjoyable ride it is, particularly as the weather warms up round us.

(JA) WWW

The Happytime Murders

Brian Henson takes his world of fluffy figures to a new realm with the fresh black comedy

action crime film, The Happytime Murders. The outrageously adult film stars Melissa McCarthy, Bill Baretta, Maya Rudolph, Joel McHale, Elizabeth Banks and Leslie David Baker.

Setting the scene in a society where humans and puppets co-exist, disgraced ex-police detective turned private investigator, Phil Phillips is forced to reunite with his ex-partner to find a serial killer taking out Muppets from the hit television show ‘The Happytime Gang’.

Finding himself in all the right places at the wrong times, Phil goes on the run with partner Edwards to find the killer before he himself ends up de-fluffed.

It’s hard for a highly-anticipated film to deliver on expectations and disappointingly Happytime does not. Although there were plenty of laughs from the borderline over the top dialogue, if you have seen the trailers then you have probably caught all the best bits. (RH) WWW1/2

The Insult This is an extraordinary film and may well earn a place among the very best cinematic courtroom dramas. It shows how complex political, social and religious issues can be, and how quickly a small private incident can escalate into a nationwide melee when aggravated by personal, historical wounds.

Tony Hanna (Adel Karam) is a Lebanese Christian living with his pregnant wife, Shirine (Rita Hayek) in a suburb of Lebanon which has become home to groups of Palestinian refugees.Yasser Salameh (Kamel El Basha) is one such refugee, an older man leading a team of contractors who are carrying out neighbourhood building repairs. When one such repair is attempted on Tony’s house it leads to confrontation (Tony is the member of a jingoistic political party). Tony shouts one, then later another much worse insult at Yasser, provoking an assault and leading them to court. Tony’s lawyer is a high profile seasoned master, Wajde

Wehbe (Camile Salameh) and he is pit against his own daughter acting for Yasser, Nadine Wehbe (Diamand Abou Abboud).

The Insult is gripping, intelligent and emotionally charged. (RB) WWWW1/2

Crazy Rich Asians

Luis And The AliensMe

Crazy Rich Asians is easily one of the greatest rom-coms of the year as it’s sure to warm the hearts of every viewer.

Asian-American, Rachel Chu (Constance Wu) follows her boyfriend, Nick Young (Henry

Eleven-year-old Luis is a lonely kid, with a UFOobsessed father who often forgets he’s even there and a mother whom he misses more than anything. But Luis’ life starts looking up when three real life aliens crash-land right near Luis’ home and things take a very unexpected turn.

The aliens in Luis And The Aliens are some of the cutest animated creatures you’ll ever meet, and their ability to shape-change makes for some hilarious encounters with the locals.

Golding) to Singapore for his best friend’s wedding. While there, she gets confronted with the realisation that his family is one of the wealthiest families in the country and Nick, is one of the most eligible bachelors. Thrown into the deep end, Rachel has to deal with his jealous ex-girlfriend, judgemental relatives but most terrifying of all, his disapproving mother, Eleanor Young (Michelle Yeoh).

The film is set in Singapore and takes audiences on an emotional journey which is interwoven with laughter, thanks to the fabulous Goh Peik Lin (Awkwafina) and Goh Wye Mun (Ken Jeong) who shine with their quirky characterisation.

At the core of the film is a modern-day fairy tale with an important message to stand up for what you want and that everyone is equal no matter what class they come from. (JM)

WWWW

Luis goes on one huge adventure with a plot twist that makes for a feel-good ending.

Luis And The Aliens is a great film for young children and pre-teens, with some real and honest emotional themes of loneliness, friendship and looking after those you love.

It pulls at your heart strings and makes you laugh out loud - this is a film for the whole family. (LS) WWWW

city hub 30 AUGUST 2017

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