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SHORT TERM LETTING PRESSURE NEEDED

SOME LIGHT SHED ON STADIUM SPLURGE

Apartment communities must be able to democratically set rules for short term letting in their buildings, including to impose bans.

I am appalled the government will spend almost $1 billion to rebuild a 30-year old elite sporting stadium, with crowd spill areas to encroach on Moore Park. This follows years of refusing to fund open space and community sport and recreation.

I’ve made submissions, statements in Parliament and asked questions but I am the only MP raising concerns and the government’s reforms may exclude owners’ corporation rights.

We must increase the pressure. If we get 10,000 signatures on my petition, it will send a strong message to government and opposition, and force them to state their policies in a parliamentary debate.

While the government blocked my 2016 bill to remove the SCG’s exemptions from planning laws, it agreed to my request for an independent public planning assessment for the rebuild of Allianz Stadium. Residents will now be able to comment on the project’s planning merits and impacts like traffic, open space and heritage.

If not properly regulated, short term letting can have impacts beyond strata including on affordable housing and local community. I also have a petition for impacted terrace residents.

I continue to oppose the wasteful stadium rebuild and you can add your voice by signing my petition to Parliament.

Petitions are available from my website www.alexgreenwich.com or by contacting my electorate office: 9267 5999, sydney@parliament.nsw.gov.au Ground Floor, 21 Oxford Street Darlinghurst.

www.alexgreenwich.com www.alexgreenwich.com

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Cross fire

by John Moyle In recent weeks there has been a lot of discussion across Sydney as to its viability as a Global City supporting a 24 hour day/night economy, but for all the good work and media friendly spin there is still an elephant looming over the debate and these are the lockout laws imposed on Kings Cross.

When the thug Kieran Loveridge king hit teenager Thomas Kelly in 2012, the death sentence was not only for a bright young life, it was also for a vibrant suburb that had long been a destination for people from all over the world.

A year later Daniel Christie was killed in similar circumstances and the fate of the entertainment precinct was also sealed, as police, emergency service providers and legislators acted swiftly and in unison to impose the most draconian licensing laws since the introduction of six o’clock closing during the First World War. The lockout laws put into place in 2014 means that Kings Cross is now the most heavily regulated precinct in Australia, at the same time as its nightlife is being strangled of its vibrancy and diversity, forcing the bars, clubs and venues into a life and death struggle for survival.

Since the laws’ introduction around 20 Kings Cross venues and bar have closed and a number of spaces remain dark.

Current venue operators are working under some of the most onerous imposts ever imposed on the small business sector and struggle on in the hope that legislators will change the laws before the area dies.

Just last week a new nightclub was forced to close after two nights to review its compliance with the lockout laws or face fines that would have ensured its immediate closure.

“We’ve dealt with so many challenges to bars and venues with over-regulation that has forced them to go out of business, so I don’t think we have the balance right yet,” Alex Greenwich, independent MP, Sydney said.

Unlike the CBD or the rest of NSW, Kings Cross venue owners must operate under their own lockout laws that make for an unlevel

playing field that in any other small business sectors would trigger a class action.

“They have to provide training, multi-plans of management, and while there are 21 different measures in the CBD, there are 36 different measures for Kings Cross,” John Green, Director, Liquor and Policing, Australian Hotels Association said.

“Apart from the Kings Cross and CBD 1.30am lockouts, there are 3am and 3.30am cease of services and the venues have to prepare information on their alcohol sales and these are the only locations in NSW that have to do that.”

“Kings Cross venues that are not prescribed high-risk venues need to report alcohol sales between 8pm and 5am, and lodge these on a quarterly basis,” Doug Grand, CEO and Coordinator, Kings Cross Licensing Accord Association said.

A high-risk venue is described as one that trades between 8pm and closing time and has a capacity above 120 people and they have to report alcohol sales on an hourly basis.

“There are financial imposts on preparing information for the units of alcohol and they say that there is no benefit to providing that information,” John Green said.

One of the lockout laws’ more contentious issues concerns the installation and manning of ID scanning machines which are a mandatory procedure for patrons entering bars or venues after 9pm.

“Kings Cross is the only precinct where identification scanning is mandated by legislation,” John Green said.

The cost of the $4,000 scanner is borne by the venue operator. The scanner must also be manned by a person who has completed a privacy compliance course.

“Then there are the wages for the person who has taken the course, which is around $35 per hour, so that equates to around $200 per night, or an extra $1,400 a week in wages,” Doug Grand said, Ian Chandler is the owner of Prohibition, the nightclub that chose to suspend trading after being warned by police of their responsibilities and that the ensuring fines for not scanning anyone which can be as high as $11,000.

Ian Chandler outside Prohibition nightclub Kings Cross.

Photo: supplied

This includes patrons who have already been scanned in but for some reason have left the venue and are seeking readmission.

“With the ID scan you have to be photographed and carry a valid form of ID, so its like you are under arrest instead of entering a bar,” Ian Chandler, owner, Prohibition said.

The scanning laws also make it difficult for interstate or overseas patrons who may not have a valid form of ID or are simply unaware of the regulation.

“The noise restrictions are another major issues, as after midnight we have a zero decibel noise restrictions, so that the faintest noise coming from the venue opens us to a $6,000 fine, which is very easy to breach when opening doors,” Ian Chandler said.

“City of Sydney rangers recently dealt with one complaint over noise from Prohibition in Roslyn Street Kings Cross, and rangers spoke with venue management and no further action was required,” spokesperson, City of Sydney said.

The City of Sydney added “Venues who believe they have outdated or unnecessary consent conditions, making it difficult to put on live music, are encouraged to contact the City’s Strategic Advisor for Live Music and Performance to discuss whether there are changes that can be made or support to enable more live music and performance at their venue.”

John Wardle, from music industry lobby group Live Music Office, agreed that the City of Sydney is being proactive about their approach to noise.

“Providing a supportive and nurturing relationship with the venue operators would achieve better live music in Kings Cross,” John Wardle said.

Discussing the Kings Cross lockouts with Darcy Byrne, mayor of Inner West Council, which does not have lockouts, he said “ It has been a very heavyhanded approach and it has reinforced the perception among young people that politicians don’t listen to them, they just do things to them.”

The Cross will never go back to what was there before that fateful evening in 2012 but something has to give soon before a once vibrant night time economy goes under forever.

“Surely we’ve reached the stage that the Kings Cross clubs have achieved reform and that some of these conditions need to be relaxed,” John Green said.

Or perhaps the views of local resident lobby group 2011 Residents Association will hold sway when they state “ We are still fully supportive of the lockout laws and believe that they need to be maintained.”

Meanwhile, Prohibition nightclub is kicking against the prevailing situation and will reopen this week.

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BY Staton Whaley Six Sydney councils have banded together in an effort to have NSW government pass regulation regarding bike shares’ upkeep and maintenance.

Bike shares are offered by four companies in the inner Sydney area as mode of simplified, quick transportation. One must simply log on to a smartphone app, which is linked to personal payment, activate the bicycle, ride, and then, when finished, drop off the bicycle upright with its helmet attached at any location. The problem that Sydney residents and their councils have seen is the state in which these bikes are left.

Often the bikes are damaged, vandalized, thrown in trees or pools, or blocking footpaths or traffic. The question becomes one of who is to take responsibility for the bikes strewn about the city and residential neighborhoods.

The City of Sydney, the City of Canada Bay, Woollahra, Waverley, Inner West, and Randwick City Councils issued a joint media release siting the increasing numbers of bike share usage since January 1st: an average of 6,600 trips per day.

While rides on the bikes shares have spiked in the New Year, the Mayor of the Innerwest Council Darcy Byrne states he first “convened the council meetings last year as it was clear that the Transport Minister Andrew Constance and the parliament weren’t going to take action to properly regulate the sector.”

According to Byrne in order for the bike shares to succeed there needs to be “one

Share bikes around City of Sydney. Photo: supplied.

jurisdiction, and that is what [they] are trying to achieve.” The goal of this unity between councils is ultimately for “the NSW government to legislate the bike share sector under the law and give the local councils the power to regulate it.”

Byrne, speaking for the coalition of councils, said “They believe that Andrew Constance should step up and take on a few rogue bike operators in the interests of the residents of Sydney.”

Mayor of Waverley John Wakefield noted that while all councils would have the right to deal with the bikes as each sees fit, there is generally a sense of concurrence on some “agreed guidelines between all of [the

councils].” This would include a contractual agreement with the operators to “clean up, maintain, and provide sufficient promotion of their phone numbers and internet details to allow people to report dumped or broken bikes,” as well as disclose “basic statistical information,” such as “levels of usage, where [the bikes] are coming from and being ridden to, and frequency…that will allow to measure the success of the operation.”

The current procedure in Waverley is to “clean up and impound a large number of the [bikes] because bike operators have not done so.” Since the New Year, there have been over 110 bikes impounded in Waverley. If the companies wish, the bikes may be taken out for $70, or left for recycling.

Peter Cavanaugh, Mayor of Woollahra Council “would like to see the NSW Government taking a leadership role regarding this issue, and update legislation to reflect changes to the emerging bike share industry.”

City of Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore believes “operators need to do more to keep their bikes and our streets safe and uncluttered,” and is “seeking an urgent meeting with the Transport Minister.”

Moore’s proposed solution “requires operators to proactively identify and replace damaged bikes.” Transport centres are noted as the most popular drop-off spots for bike shares. The Lord Mayor insists council does its part as well in “install[ing] more bike parking to keep busy locations tidy.” city hub 5 APRIL 2018

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Childcare workers chuck a tanty

Inner West Council’s Globe Wilkins preschool awarded prestigious “Excellent” award. Photo: Supplied by Inner West Council

United Voice will continue to campaign for pay rises for educators through their Big Steps campaign.

While the national walkout on Tuesday sheds light on one of the many challenges for childcare services, it does not reveal the entire story.

Robyn Monro Miller, chief executive officer for Network of Community Activities, said the shortage is not uniform throughout the city.

“Its pockets of high demand. So, every time

we say that we’ve got a waiting list in this area, we’ve got other services saying well we got vacancies,” Miller said. “So, we just need to identify these pockets of high demand. Some regions have higher demands then others and if you look at it, the Northern Sydney region has very high demand, as does the Inner West. You can generally track where the high demand is going to be.”

Network of Community Activities is a not-for-

profit organization that supports the development of programs for children within the local communities, as well as works with local childcare services to address different needs and issues.

The Inner West districts experience waiting lists anywhere from 30 to 150 children. According to the Inner West Council website, Leichhardt has over 150 children on waiting lists, while Rozelle has over 60 children on theirs.

The Inner West saw an increase of between 5.3 and 5.9 per cent in population for children ages zero to nine who need child care services.

In 2016, Leichhardt had a population of 15,505, with an 8.4 per cent increase in children between the ages of zero and four and a 6.7 per cent increase in children between the ages of five and nine.

According to the Inner West Council, the Leichhardt Council initiated the After School Care Alliance, which lobbied the State Government to take action to help the under supply of after care services.Alliance has not been active since 2014.

Susan Rigg, director of Rozelle Out of School Hours Care, said that the shortage is not due to government funding, but the lack of physical space to build facilities.

“It was never developed or designed for child care services or large areas to be put aside for that, it’s housing. So, you may be able to have a service, but you can’t have a large service because you don’t have the physical space,” Ms. Rigg said.

Out of School Hours Care facilities must meet national regulations of 3.25 square metres of indoor space per child and 7.5 metres of outdoor space per child to operate. This can be a challenge for new facilities in the inner city or for those wishing to expand.

The shortage of space puts stress on educators and families. Rozelle Out of School Hours Care has a two-year waiting list leaving many parents flustered.

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By Gabriela Szymanowska More than 300 childcare centres shut down on Tuesday, 27 March as thousands of workers walked off the job to demand higher pay.

The walkout was part of the Union United Voice’s Big Steps campaign, which is a response to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s failure to act on the equal pay crisis in the industry where a majority of workers are women.

The walkout was also in response to the failure of the Fair Work Commission, an independent body for Australia’s national workplace relations tribunal, to listen to educators present their side during a legal case in the matter.

Childcare workers are currently only earning an average of $21 an hour, falling short of the average wage for childcare educators with a Certificate III who earn $42 per hour. The protest on Tuesday pushed for a 30 per cent increase in pay for workers.

Though workers’ wages come from two sources—parent fees and government funding—it is improbable to raise parent fees any higher.

Helen Gibbons, Assistant National Secretary for United Voice, said that Tuesday’s action was unprecedented, with the numbers just continuing to grow from 3,000 educators walking off in September 2017 in protests to the 6,500 that walked off in March.

“The huge, unprecedented numbers of educators walking off nation-wide on Tuesday was a direct result of the growing frustration and anger felt by educators over continued government action on the appalling equal pay gap facing this professional walk off,” Ms. Gibbons said.

The low wages significantly effect workers’ lives due to them being unable to pay mortgages or plan for retirement, resulting in high levels of stress and health related issues.

city hub 5 APRIL 2018

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Rosebery rising

BY Jade Morellini Residents of Rosebery are concerned with the City of Sydney Council’s proposed changes to the planning controls for 102 – 106 Dunning Avenue.

The Council plans to increase the height restriction from 18 to 29 metres, change the sites land zoning and increase the site density by 40%.

Rosebery resident, June Buchanan disagrees with this proposal, saying, “It is certainly appalling the way they are just totally taking away the character of Rosebery by overriding the heights that were agreed on.

Residents have a right to live in their chosen environment and we have been swamped by a building frenzy, it’s just crazy.”

In 1912 a covenant was created to protect Rosebery from over development. It stated that anyone who buys a residential lot in the estate could only build a one storey, double fronted cottage.

Local historian John Scott told Fairfax Media, “The owner of the planning company, Richard Stanton, had seen the slums in London and in Surry Hills and wanted Rosebery to be different. Stanton, who also designed Haberfield, didn’t want an ugly collection of different sized buildings. He thought people living on top of each other would become, what he called, slumdogs.”

Not only is it a problem of removing a part of the community’s history, but it will also pose a

problem for the environment.

President of Potts Point and Kings Cross Heritage and Residents Society and commentator on DA’s across Sydney, Andrew Woodhouse pointed out that by increasing the building height, it will “reduce breeze ways, decrease natural light, increase overshadowing, reduce amenity and increase traffic, while failing to provide new infrastructure or additional open space. The low-scale village ambience will be destroyed and vertical sums created.”

The City of Sydney Council thinks these changes could be a positive thing, allowing for the future development of about 120 residential units, affordable rental houses, retail and commercial spaces. Unfortunately, many locals still don’t agree.

Spokesperson for the Rosebery Action Group, Wayne Moody said, “I think we have lost our community. Over-crowding creates stress as we fight over space, parking, amenities, the roads are full, the parks are full. Now nearly everyone has had to leave Rosebery, where they used to work, because they keep pulling down the light industrial buildings and building more units.”

Buchanan agrees, “Absolutely not, Rosebery does not need extra housing. They have provided Green Square, which is over a 30-storey building, which still hasn’t been inhabited yet. They’ve also got

another one under construction which is going to be at least as high - it is madness! No, they cannot support more people. Rental properties, yes, but don’t do it in Rosebery, it will be overcrowded, there’s a building frenzy and there’s no infrastructure.”

They want the Government to put more into the infrastructure of Rosebery, rather than create more rental properties.

“The government has not provided one extra bit of infrastructure. I moved into the area December 2009 and there used to be about two or three of us catching the train from Green Square into the city but now you’re lucky if you can squeeze onto the train. The 309 and 302 buses have not increased their regularity and so you still have to wait far too long for those buses to come along, and the M20 finishes going to Botany at around 8:30 at night and so it’s just an appalling lack of infrastructure,” Buchanan said.

“We have lost control over development. The State Government has got so much control over the development, it’s out of control and the councils who represent locals have no say or cannot stop it. We used to be a suburb where you could walk to work. That’s why it was planned that way by Stanton’s vision,” Moody said.

“The proposal is unsustainable and unacceptable. Good town planning requires the Three

Local of Rosebery, June Buchanan. Photo: Supplied

Cs, namely; clarity, certainty and consistency. This proposal has neither and is therefore bad planning. It should be refused,” Woodhouse said.

The City of Sydney Council are inviting locals to submit their feedback on the proposed changes to the planning controls by 5pm on Wednesday 11th April via email.

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Moore Park, less stadium

BY JOSHUA KINDL Sydney’s beloved Moore Park is in danger of becoming worthy of a Joni Mitchell song unless additional funding can be found for the area.

This call for additional maintenance resources comes as the New South Wales State Government undertakes final assessment on a potential $705 million refurbishment for Allianz Stadium.

In a recent statement, Saving Moore Park Convenor, Michael Waterhouse, said that Moore Park was in dire need of funding, citing deteriorating conditions and worsened resident experience.

“Moore Park has become extremely degraded over the years, with fences everywhere limiting access and car parking destroying the Park’s surface.

“The Government needs to make a significant investment in remediating the Park, and we believe it’s in its political interests as much as the community’s interests that it do so,” Mr Waterhouse said.

New funding would supplement the existing Moore Park 2040 Master Plan, administered by the Centennial Park & Moore Park Trust, and greatly improve the conditions of the area for residents and commuters alike.

These improvements include further ‘greening’ of Moore Park; new Light Rail network integration; 10km of new pathways for cyclists and pedestrians, and a common-sense approach to car parking.

The 2040 Master Plan is the first in Moore Park’s 150-year history, which Mr Waterhouse said in a recent statement was why it was imperative the State Government implemented new funding soon.

“The need for funding and the level of funding… is appropriate,” he said.

This comes after several reports released mid2017 outlining plans for Moore Park to become

Allianz Stadium, Moore Park. Photo: Supplied

home to a myriad of new facilities, such as student accommodation, commercial offices and sporting grounds.

In a November 2017 statement, Mr Waterhouse said that the funding needed by Moore Park to not only survive, but to flourish, was a fraction of that being spent on the popular sporting stadium.

“An investment of $10 million – a mere 1.4 per cent of the proposed expenditure on the new stadium – would enable Moore Park to be significantly upgraded after decades of chronic under-funding,” he said.

THE APPRENTICE

He added that the long, fruitful history of the park within Sydney, along with local residents’ wishes for greater amounts of green space, made funding for the area essential.

“Moore Park is of vital importance to the community, and particularly those people living in the rapidly growing area west of the park.

“Over the next decade this will become the most densely populated area in Australia. People living there will need ample green space for recreation – the reason the Park was established in 1866,” Mr Waterhouse said.

Moore Park, once known for little more than home to the Sydney Showground and the annual Easter Show, has since become a national hub for film, television and entertainment, as well as for a number of sporting events.

The small suburb houses not only Fox Studios, but also the iconic Sydney Cricket Ground and the Allianz Stadium and the entertainment venue Hordern Pavilion.

As a result, the area tends to be overcrowded for much of the year, leading to concerns from local residents that the overall wellbeing of Moore Park is being forgotten.

However, both the State Government and SCG Trust, who administer the land where development is to take place, have made assurances that Moore Park would not be negatively affected by any future plans.

NSW State Premier, Gladys Berejiklian, ensured residents that their needs were to be considered prior to those of any potential development plans.

“Wherever we build new projects we take the necessary action to make sure the community is front and centre,” she said.

While Mr Waterhouse admits that these assurances are welcome, in recent letters he has called on both the State Government and SCG Trust to “promote the full and free disclosure of information relating to the impact of the redevelopment on Moore Park and on the local community.”

Mr Waterhouse hopes that continued action by his organisation and local residents will force the State Government to take notice and save Moore Park.

“It’s unlikely we’ll get a better chance to win significant funding for Moore Park than we have now,” he said.

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MEET the locals

Classic Italian cuisine with a contemporary twist

BY STATON WHALEY Diners at Capriccio Osteria, situated on NDiners at Capriccio Osteria can enjoy Italian dishes inspired by traditional Italian cuisine spiced up with whatever Australian freshness is at hand. Located on Norton Street in Leichhardt, the white and yellow decor matches the lemon peel artwork adorning the window.

Outdoor dining is ideal on a sunny day in the cozy suburb, but inside the chefs can be seen crafting the very dishes that will soon arrive.

You can also see pasta being hand stretched in the back.

The owner, Michele Rispoli, hails from Positano, Italy, a small cliff-side beach town on the coast of southern Italy. Rispoli helped his family build and then run their small beach cafe every summer during busy season. Rispoli has worked in kitchens across Europe, gaining culinary experience knowledge. In 2015 he started the arduous process of creating his restaurant along with his head chef, Nicole Bampton, who has worked at a number of Sydney’s leading restaurants including Tetsuya. Nicole and Michel perfected the menu with months of soft openings. At the end of 2015, Capriccio Osteria officially opened as the newest and most unique restaurant in Leichardt’s renowned Italian dining district, and with good reason.

The menu encompasses a wide range of sharing dishes, from oysters on the half shell with lemon, lime, and vodka granita ($4 each) to Wagyu beef carpaccio with onion, pecorino cheese, rocket, and walnut agrodolce ($26).

Rispoli suggested Italian staples that are simple yet masterfully crafted. The mixed Italian olives marinated in citrus and herb ($8) packed the perfect clash of sweet, tangy, and salty falvours.

Appetisers at Capriccio Osteria. Photo: Gabriella Szymanowska

18-month old Prosciutto di Parma ($13) paired with wood fired house-made rosemary and sea salt focaccia ($5) and creamy stracciatella which means “stretched” in Italian is served with roasted black figs and balsamic ($15) all of which came together beautifully. The warm

seasoned bread was a simple palate on which one could enjoy the tender prosciutto and the creamy cheese, as it is worked past being burrata, but not rolled quite into mozzarella.

With the oversight of a talented chef the wood fired oven produces a perfectly balanced

and tender dish, Rispoli explains that the technique is difficult but extremely rewarding.

Options include Ox tongue roasted with almond romesco and crispy capers ($16) and wood fired swordfish with Jerusalem artichokes, red peppers and bagna cauda ($38).

Last but certainly not least is a selection of pastas, all made by hand, which, according to Rispoli makes all the difference. Rispoli brought out the squid ink spaghetti with blue swimmer crab, chili, and basil ($29), and fettuccine with guanciale, black pepper, and tuscan pecorino cheese ($27). Rispoli described the creation of the dish as an intricate one, with the squid ink being infused into the pasta while it is being made. The tomato and basil are fresh local ingredients. The chili adds a kick to the buttery crab and vegetables. This dish is a must eat.

The fettuccine is presented in a creamy white sauce and is a hearty, filling dish.

A full bar menu with crafted cocktails are available. Rispoli says he used to serve almost strictly Italian with beer and wine choices, with grapes many had never heard of before, but now he is more open to mixing in Australian and New Zealand wines as well.

Capriccio Osteria brings old fashioned Italian cuisine to a modern location. Rispoli crafts each meal with fresh locally grown ingredients that make the Italian cuisine a unique find in the neighborhood. Rispoli said he would rather use something not quite typical in his dishes than import something all the way from Italy if it won’t keep as well. While Rispoli’s heart has never left the small beach town in Italy from which he draws inspiration, he does not tie himself to a limited culinary mindset. Capriccio Osteria serves up all the Italian classics but presents them with a local, modern twist.

city hub 5 APRIL 2018

7

FEATURE

Batch Experimentation Omar Musa and Cassie Workman.

Photo: Brett Boardman

back of theatre into an “ethereal urban secret garden”. Patrons are encouraged to wander barefoot through this experiential space in a guided 15 minute conversation/performance tour. When Spencer read the submission for this work, he thought.

“Yeah, we’ve got a back deck, let’s turn it into something extraordinary for a few weeks.”

You Must Come Alone To Read The Last Book On Earth is an object work by Georgia Symons. Led to a secret location, participants will be allowed a restricted time alone to read and contribute to the last book on Earth - and possibly find out what happened to all the other books.

“It’s about world building and kind of layering of story…it’s really beautiful and an added bonus of the festival to be able to come and experience that work,” says Spencer.

Exclusion Zone: A Walking Tour by Caleb Lewis, takes groups of up to 20 people on a role-playing adventure through post apocalyptic Kings Cross.

Participants are part of a covert operation to re-map the city and investigate unaccountable crypto-cartographic activity at ground zero.

There are various other free events, designed to augment the festival experience in an accessible and affordable way.

Among the paid events, Spencer nominates Since Ali Died by Omar Musa as an absolute highlight.

Spencer believes rapper/poet Musa is “one of the country’s most talented writers and most incandescent live performers” and describes the show as “a really fierce, angry and kind of cathartic storytelling show about, basically what it means to be a Malaysian Muslim Australian living in this country right now.”

Spencer is also thrilled about the inclusion of Melbourne underground cabaret sensation Mama Alto (Club Mama) who has “one of the most unbelievable voices” and is performing a smouldering set list late in the evening.

One award winning artist of whom Spencer, and many peers, speak highly, is Cassie Workman, who’ll be performing her solo, multi disciplinary narrative work, Giantess.

Giantess tells the story of Sam, a young girl living with her single dad, who is abducted by a car park troll. He takes her back to his place and keeps her captive for 30 years, during which time she develops Stockholm Syndrome. It is not until she acknowledges her destiny of becoming a giant that she is able to escape.

It might be easy to interpret the play as self-referential when you know Workman’s

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own story. She is transgender and started transitioning only last year. However, while she admits it has autobiographical elements, Workman says Giantess is more a general exploration around transition issues.

“From a transgender perspective I think the themes are universal of not being able to be who you are, presenting something that is a parody of yourself or a caricature,” she explains. “But it’s also very much a fairy tale, a moral fable, and it’s presented as such and I think it’s quite fun and it’s quite cute,” she adds.

Workman spent much of her career on the stand-up comedy circuit, winning awards and a faithful fan base. This current work will incorporate stand-up comedy as well as music, storytelling and illustration. Eclectic and rarefied performance style are associated with fringe and underground entertainment, but both Workman and Spencer hope to bring it to the mainstream.

“I think the time is right to start a move towards broader audiences, I think it’s a good time to start getting into the world of theatre and even getting into the world of alternative circus and cabaret,” says Workman.“I definitely encourage people to get out and see some weird things and see some experimental things and be inspired by it …”

Spencer hopes that hosting the festival at the well-established Stables Theatre will introduce a new crowd to an edgier genre.

“There’s no point supporting the next generation of artists if we’re not also growing the next generation of audiences, so that’s what Batch is about.”

Apr 11-28, SBW Stables Theatre, 10 Nimrod St, Kings Cross.Various Prices.

Tickets & Info: www.griffintheatre.com.au

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By Rita Bratovich When Phil Spencer and a group of associates started tossing around ideas for a small, alternative arts festival, they kept referring to a “batch” of performers and “batch” of shows. The subliminal messaging lured them down to Batch Brewing Co for some experimental beer drinking and it was here that the name and concept for the Batch Festival finally fermented.

Spencer is the Artistic Associate for Griffin Theatre Company, the creative force behind the inaugural Batch Festival which takes place over three weeks at the SBW Stables Theatre. Batch Brewing Co has done more than share its name; it has come on board as a supporter and will be supplying beer for the festival bar.

It’s a perfect partnership since Batch Brewing Co is a grass roots, independent brewer that is not afraid to experiment with new flavours, while Batch Festival is a program of innovative and vastly diverse works that stretch the boundaries of conventional theatre, both in content and presentation.

“The diversity of applications we got through the door in terms of cultural background, sexual persuasion, political outlook was staggering,” says Spencer in reference to the open submission callout which attracted more than 100 applicants. In curating the festival, Spencer wanted to avoid having a theme or even influencing the vibe of the festival, instead wanting it to evolve as a natural reflection of current society.

“It’s actually about letting the artists, the writers, the performance makers dictate what conversations we should be having on our stages.”

Or off our stages, as is the case with some of the festival’s free sideline offerings.

Glimpse is a collaboration between designer Jonathan Hindmarsh and director Scarlet McGlynn that transforms the company office and

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Murphy

Sydney audiences are to be treated to this tribute to the 50-year career of one of Australia’s great creative artists, choreographer Graeme Murphy, arguably one of the leading choreographers of his generation.

Over the years, we have seen Murphy’s take on The Nutcracker, which was set in a Melbourne heatwave, the opposite of Tchaikovsky’s familiar snowy world, and he interpreted Swan Lake as a ménage à trois.

This production will present excerpts from his dazzling works, including The Silver Rose and Shéhérazade, as well as the sizzling Firebird in its entirety.

Murphy says,“When you’re doing the classics, we are trying, to a large degree, to uphold a tradition of

they are and why they are doing it, and then give them the freedom to experiment.”

Senior Artist Jarryd Madden is excited about the production:“The amazing thing with Graeme is he always does something different every time he goes into a production.Whenever you see one of his pieces, even if you’ve never seen a ballet before, you can really connect to it. He tells these stories that are really raw and emotional, and no matter what you’re looking at you’ll feel something.”

With Murphy, we can “expect the unexpected” and that will be a thrill for our collective senses in this compilation tribute to Australia’s most innovative choreographer. (ID) Apr 6-23. Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House, Bennelong Point, Sydney. $140-$236+b.f.Tickets & Info: www.australianballet.com.au

Firebird Artists of the Australian Ballet.

Photo: Jeff Busby

how it’s done and how it should be done, but of course, as an audience, we want to see that tradition lifted to another level.That’s when you’ve got to say, give the artists space, push them in the direction, make sure that they understand the essence of who

REVIEW: The Devil’s Caress When Australian author, June Wright published her novel The Devil’s Caress in 1953, she was already riding a wave of fame as a crime mystery fiction writer. Described by some as a hybrid of Agatha Christie and Daphne Du Maurier,Wright’s novels are tense, psychological melodramas with hints of whimsical humour.They sound perfect for stage adaptation, which is exactly what playwright Wendy Lewis has done.

The stage version of The Devil’s Caress, currently being performed by Factory Space Theatre Company in Manly, showcases Wright’s skill with subtleties of language and ability to bring a cast of disparate characters together under an umbrella of intrigue.

Marsh Mowbray (Sarah Moon), is a medical graduate who is invited to a weekend gathering -

along with a number of other guests - at the home of Dr Katherine Waring (Capri Walsh).There is an immediate sense of disquiet as each of the characters discloses fragments of a larger, unsavoury story. It is not long before a murder takes place and the innuendos become open, hostile accusations. Is Katherine Waring a remorseless predator or a victim of malicious hearsay?

In her adaptation Lewis has chosen to include June Wright (Alexandra Chambers) as a character in the play, writing the story and interacting with the other characters as it progresses. It adds an interesting dimension and provides an opportunity to learn about the author herself.

The staging is minimal yet very effective and the

The Sound Of Waiting

Gabrielle Scawthor

The Sound Of Waiting explores the struggles of asylum seekers and their journey.

Director, Suzanne Pereira said, “The Sound Of Waiting is a play written by Mary Anne Butler who is a writer from the Northern Territory and the play basically takes us through the story of an asylum seeker who leaves his hometown with his very young daughter to find safety and his journey is followed by the Angel of Death.”

The story explores the themes of resilience, humanity, hope and

displacement through only two characters, Hamed Mokri and the Angel of Death.

“For me the real beauty of the story is that it is not just a story about an asylum seeker but in fact the story of the Angel of Death and who she is at the beginning of the play in comparison to the end of the play when she is really transformed.”

Pereira hopes to challenge the audiences so they can walk away with a new perspective on who they are.

“We were very lucky to have Mary Anne Butler with us at some rehearsals and she spoke to us a lot about the message.We hope the audience will walk away with an opportunity to ask themselves who are we going to be?” (JM) Until Apr 22. Eternity Playhouse, 39 Burton Street, Darlinghurst. $38-$54.Tickets & Info: www.darlinghursttheatre.com

a&e

costumes add authenticity.The performers are invested in their characters and the plot, and there are some genuine shocks and laughs. (RB) Until Apr 14. Star Of The Sea Theatre, Cnr Collingwood and Iluka St, Manly. $28-$35+b.f.

Tickets & Info: www.factoryspace.org

The Time Machine Mark Lee stars in this one-man play based on the novella by HG Wells. A cautionary tale, it tells the story of an Edwardian scientist who invents a time machine and travels to 802701AD. “He’s arrogant, very self assured and has built something which he is sure will work. What he doesn’t know is the effect it will have on him,” Lee explained.

The time traveller was previously portrayed by fellow Australians Rod Taylor and Guy Pierce in successful Hollywood films.

“He tells a story but the drama unfolds as he relives the more nightmarish episodes of his travels and it becomes all too consuming. He travels to a place where he has to try to observe and absorb the changes and try to make sense of how we got

19 STAGE 10 SCENE 11 Sounds 11 SCREEN

to this point. Also he travels to the end of the world which neither of the films have dealt with. He’s curious what happens to this world and what happens to humanity. That’s where it finishes and he returns and brings back.... I guess a warning.”

Mark hopes that this play will touch audiences in their 20s and 30s. “These people hold change in their hands - I really hope they come and realise that we need to think differently how the world goes - if we don’t address inequality and oppression and what needs to be addressed now it will be impossible in the future.”

(MMo) Apr 11-May 2.

Nida Playhouse Theatre, 215 Anzac Parade, Kensington. $45.50-$62.50+b.f.

Tickets & Info: www.ticketek.com.au

Mark Lee

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 @CityHubSyd

Going Down

“It’s not biographical but it certainly takes elements from Michele Lee’s life. She wrote a memoir named Banana Girl and this play came kind of as a response to the feedback she received from that book. I hope that people identify with it, I hope it speaks to an audience that feels they don’t normally get spoken to in the theatre.”

Presented by Sydney Theatre Company and a co-production with Malthouse Theatre, Going Down is playwright Michele Lee’s first full-length play for Sydney Theatre Company. The play is directed by Leticia Caceres alongside a cast of rising performers Paul Blenheim, Josh Price, Naomi Rukavina, Jenny Wu and Catherine Davies, who was kind enough to answer a row of questions about the play for City Hub. “It follows the character of Natalie Young who I play, over the course of a weekend where her life hits an intersection of identity crisis, career crisis, a life crisis essentially which sees her spiral. It’s a crash course of her re-identifying herself against the expectations of what is put upon in this case, second generation Asian/Australian women.”

On playing the character Catherine felt “as a second generation Asian/Australian women it’s rare to get the opportunity to play a character like Natalie, who is three dimensional and only answers to herself, it’s incredibly liberating. The ensemble of actors in the show are spectacular and to be able to play against the 50 odd characters they switch up between themselves is an absolute joy.”

The show will play until May 5 at the Wharf Two Theatre Sydney. “People will both laugh and be offended and possibly even turned on. It’s like a spectacle of outrageous disaster. It’s also important to support new work. Lee is an amazing Australian voice, this is incredible work and I feel a real privilege in performing it.” (RH) Until May 5. Wharf Two Theatre, Pier 4, Hickson Road, Walsh Bay. $37-$42+b.f. Tickets & Info: www.sydneytheatre.com.au

Contributors: Barbara Karpinski, Craig Coventry, Emily Shen, Greg Webster, Irina Dunn, Jade Morellini, Joseph Rana, Leann Richards, Lisa Seltzer, Mark Morellini, Mel Somerville, Olga Azar, Rita Bratovich, Rocio Belinda Mendez, Sarah Pritchard, Shon Ho, Jade Morellini, Alex Eugene, Manuel Gonzalez, Tommy Boutros, Riley Hooper, Mohsen Dezaki, Daniel Jaramillo, Georgia Fullerton, Gary Nunn, Addie Morton, Staton Whaley. city hub 5 APRIL 2017

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REVIEW: The Wolves The Wolves, a 2016 play and 2017 Pulitzer finalist by Sara DeLappe, being performed at the Old Fitz Theatre in Sydney until April 14, is certainly something to see.

The opening scene is set as an all girls indoor soccer team chats and gossips amidst warmup drills and exercises. Conversations stem from their daily preoccupations - ranging anywhere from periods to curse words to, as made brutally apparent by the girls, the coach’s apparent hangover. These conversations, which go from jumbled talk amongst the group to fairly straightforward dialogue, continually fill in

is where the audience relates to the characters personally. Other players find themselves in similar personal predicaments that operate as a viewing lens for the audience to explore deceivingly complex social issues, including abortion and the coming out of a gay teenager.

As the team nears their goal of making the national tournament, tempers run high, personal conflict surfaces, and the plot twists and turns until the end in this ninety minute dramatic showing. (SW) Until Apr 14. Old Fitz Theatre, 129 Dowling St, Woolloomooloo. $33-$55+b.f. Tickets & Info: www.redlineproductions.com.au

the audience on the internal drama of the group. The rifts and schisms expose each girl on a personal and emotional level, revealing each for having their own struggles which contributes to the functionality of the team as a whole.

The apparent leader of the pack, player number seven, an attitude rich, up front girl, goes from seemingly in control to completely broken down and injured, in need of companionship while watching her spot be filled from the sidelines.

These moments in the play, in conjunction with the teenage synopsis from the rest of the team,

THE NAKED CITY

THERE’S A MEETING HERE TONIGHT! With Coffin Ed With its launch back in 2002, Meetup, has become a real phenomenon of the modern internet with the website software enabling people sharing a common interest to come together for a very sociable interaction. It seems there are no boundaries as to the common experience with Sydney alone boasting groups such as Sydney Salsa Meetup (sauce or dancing?), the Australian Skeptics, Transhumanism Sydney and Sydney Gay Male Sticky Hairy Nudist Group – to name just a few of the hundreds listed.

In many cases it’s a validation of an interest that you once considered peculiar to yourself. Once you discover there are other folks out there who would like to squat the lotus position in the bollocky, a naked yoga group does not seem all that unusual. Scan the lists of Meetup groups and you’ll soon see there are new opportunities looming every day but what about ‘Meetup Groups We Would Really Love To See’. Here are just a few of my own suggestions.

PEOPLE WHO CAN’T STAND ABBA: Count me in as this group meets regularly to share their disgust for the insidious and hideously enduring music of the now defunct (thank God) Swedish melody makers. Members enjoy a selection of shared music from Norwegian death metal to out there avant garde jazz, anything to dispel the omnipresent sugary pop of those wretched never say die harmonisers.

CHATTERING MASSES MORNING MEET UP: This group gathers in the local coffee shop where free copies of the

SMH and Tele are on hand. Whilst on principle they would never fork over good money for a copy of a rag like the Tele, they are intrigued as to the latest rant from either Miranda Devine or Piers Akerman. Screams of laughter fill the shop as Miranda’s latest dogma charged serve of Green left bashing is read aloud by the latte loving moonbats.

Pollination In The Calyx

On a basic level everybody understands that pollination is critical to not only the survival of plants but also to the entire ecosystem. If you ever wanted to see first-hand just how beautiful this wondrous natural phenomena is then make your way down to The Calyx in The Royal Botanic Gardens.

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Curated by the horticultural team at the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, the display features a collection of plants and flowers showcasing the role colour plays in natures magnificent act of pollination.

Garden beds of vibrant coloured orchids, daisies, gardenias and lilies are set against the backdrop of the display hero -the green wall.

The wall, the largest of its kind in Australia, standing at six metres high and spanning 50 metres, showcases the Pollination theme with Dichondra, Syngonium and Heuchera.

This is not just a simple exhibition which you walk through and consume in awe but you can make an entire day of it with the family thanks to The Calyx Cafe, where you can sit down for a light lunch with a hot cup of tea or coffee.

If Pollination piques your interest you could also head out afterwards to explore the 30 hectares of stunning grounds within The Royal Botanic Gardens.

(JA) Until Jul 29. The Calyx, The Royal Botanic Gardens, Mrs Macquaries Rd, Sydney. FREE. Info: www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au

OLD SCHOOL HUMOUR GROUP: Essentially a meetup group for anybody with a strong dislike of the current batch of smart arse Australian stand-up comics who have overrun both commercial TV, radio and the ABC, many with their own horribly self-indulgent vanity shows. The group meets regularly to play old Richard Pryor and Bill Hicks records as well as watching vids of Spike Milligan and Norman Gunston. Talk about a laugh!

COOKING ON A STICK: A culinary get together for lovers of anything served on a stick be it a humble Dagwood Dog, a toffee apple or the latest attraction at the Royal Easter Show, chocolate cheesecake on a stick. The group love the idea of no washing up after the meal and it’s Paddle Pops all around for desert!

SYDNEY CITY BIRDWATCHERS: The group meet weekly to check on the health and welfare of the CBD’s booming bird population including cockatoos, pigeons and ibis. There is also a weekly count of Tracy Emin’s bronze birds near Circular Quay to check whether any have been nicked for scrap.

MEET ME AT GILLIGAN’S: Not the once popular bar in the Oxford Hotel, but the grassy patch opposite Kinselas, home to Sydney’s longest running open air wine tasting. Here the meetup invitation is 24/7, BYO flagon of Royal Reserve Port, and be prepared to share. It’s the most egalitarian meet up in the whole city and everybody, from just about any walk of life is welcome. With a horrific Council makeover strongly rumoured, time for this most sociable of meetups is running short. Please note: Not suitable for Naked Yoga.

The Sydney Children’s Festival

Bringing some fun in the sun to Sunday, April 8 is the 20th anniversary of The Sydney Children’s Festival. First Fleet Park at The Rocks will host the festival, showcasing our nations cultural diversity.

“Celebrating Australia Together” is the theme for the 2018 festival, sponsored by Multicultural NSW and supported by the City of Sydney as part of the Living In Harmony Festival and other partners. Already launched, the Children’s Festival is hosting a poster competition with money prizes of up to $100 presented to the winners.

The competition will be held within two age groups, nine to thirteen and nine and under.

One of the main focuses of the festival is to allow children to display their talents, make new friends and learn about the privilege we have of living in this multicultural and prosperous country of ours, Australia.The programme for the day will see onstage performances, a parade of ethnically multicultural costumes, display and activity stalls, outdoor games and competitions.

Running from 10:30am until 4:20pm, the performance programme is set to be filled with traditional dancing from the Sydney iDance Studio, Huyan Quang Buddhist Youth Association, Redfern Dance Company and Ikshame Dance Studio to name a few, with classic music performances,

martial arts demonstrations and many more entertaining acts.

The official proceedings will commence with the children’s parade and official opening of traditional costume and the national anthem followed by a traditional Aboriginal welcome with guest speeches, a thank you presentation and the announcement of the Children’s Poster Competition winners.

For a great day out for all the family, be sure not to miss the 20th Anniversary of the Sydney Children’s Festival. (RH) Apr 8. First Fleet Park,The Rocks. FREE. Info: www.childrensfestival.com.au

Live Music Guide LIVE WIRE Sydney

By Jamie Apps

Luke Elliot: New Jersey born and bred singer/songwriter Luke Elliot will kick off the week of live music with a wonderfully simple yet captivating performance featuring just himself and a piano.

Thu, Apr 5, Lazybones Lounge Good Lovelies: Wowing crowds with their powerful harmonies and wicked sense of humour - the years of juggling touring, parenting and a life-time of friendship together providing ample tales to tell.

Thu, Apr 5, Leadbelly Kwame: Against a backdrop of soulful, jazz influenced hip-hop, Kwame spills his heart out as he tries to find balance in his life.

Tomorrow night Kwame will take the audience on a journey of love, pain and personal growth as he launches his second EP Endless Conversations.

Fri, Apr 6, Metro Theatre Jade MacRae: Pop and soul singer Jade MacRae has serious jazz pedigree.Teaming up with her parents, Dave MacRae and Joy Yates, in a rare performance of their critically acclaimed collaboration Bloodlines, she will demonstrate her jazz prowess in an intimate concert tomorrow night.

Fri, Apr 6, Foundry616 Together Pangea: With their latest full-length album, Bulls And Roosters, the band managed to hit a sweet spot between writing rock ‘n’ roll songs worthy of being hummed twenty years from now and maintaining the brash and ballsy bite fans know and

love. Check them out live in Sydney this weekend.

Sat, Apr 7, Oxford Art Factory Rapaport: Fresh from the Big Vacation National Tour with Mathas, Omar Musa and P.Smurf, the co-founder and label manager of Big Village Records, Rapaport is excited to showcase his new record Village Idiot the Sydney fans this weekend.

Sat, Apr 7, Factory Floor Sally Whitwell & Ephemera Trio: Aria Award-winning, ABC recording artist, pianist and composer Sally Whitwell will perform a selection of her favourite contemporary classical works alongside her own compositions. Joining Sally in a special double bill will be the genre blurring act Ephemera Trio.

Sat, Apr 7, Seymour Centre Sergio Mendes: The most successful international musical export from Brazil, Sergio Mendes will bring his bossa nova, latin jazz and pop infused Brazilian music experience complete with eight piece band and singers to Sydney as he celebrates six decades in music.

Sun, Apr 8, Sydney Opera House Gum: The moniker of Tame Impala/Pond multi-instrumentalist Jay Watson has recently dropped two new singles and will be arriving in Sydney mid-week to showcase those two tracks alongside a selection of tracks from his new record Underdog.

Wed, Apr 11, Oxford Art Factory

Hitler Versus Picasso

Berchtesgaden liberation and recovery of the Goering collection by the 101st Aiirbone Division.

Courtesy of National Archives & Records Administration

In an interview around the time of the Second World War, Picasso had allegedly told a reporter, “Painting is not done to decorate apartments, it is an instrument of war for attack and defend against the enemy.” Hitler Versus Picasso is pretty much a summation of that thought.

It’s a movie describing Hitler’s love for painting, art and sculpture, featuring numerous interviews that include scholars and at one point Hitler’s neighbour.

The movie is slow paced, yet informatively detailing

the events that unfolded due to one man’s obsession with art. Narrated by Toni Servillo, the movie describes how one man’s regime was obsessed with power and that acquiring art satisfied that urge. Mainstream Hollywood sometime ago did a more corny version of this era of art lost and found starring George Clooney called The Monuments Men. Not sure if this will be everyone’s cup of tea, but history buffs and art aficionados should lap it up.

(JR) WW1/2

By Jamie Apps Almost every modern Australian hardcore band will mention the legendary Parkway Drive when asked about their influences.Very few however can say they’ve been lucky enough to play alongside their heroes. Even fewer can say they got to play with Parkway Drive as they commemorated a specific album which drew them into the genre. Sydney band Polaris though are one band which can claim all of those things, having supported Parkway Drive on the recent 10 year anniversary of Horizons tour.

“Horizons was one of our collectively favourite albums. So to be on that tour was unbelievable, we kind of had to pinch ourselves every night,” said Polaris guitarist Rick Schneider.

The Horizons tour was also special for Polaris due to the sheer volume of shows as well as the responses they received from audiences.

“Most Australian tours these day’s you’re lucky to get five shows in, a lot of tours are just the three shows along the east coast. So to be able to play 13 shows in a row, with 12 of those sold out, was

Polaris

Photo: Daniel Anderson

completely unlike any other tour,” reflected Schneider.“We’re also pretty used to shows where the crowd aren’t particularly interested in the support act but on pretty much every show of that tour we had people getting involved from the start to the end.”

That crowd support perhaps came thanks to the release of Polaris’ incredibly successful debut album The Mortal Coil in November last year.The

Tom Misch Geography

Listening to the music of South London’s Tom Misch you would never guess this producer is only 22 years of age, as his music carries a wisdom and depth of a much older and more experienced artist.

Within the 13 track offering Misch subtly blends influences from a range of genres to create a record which is hard to classify.

Geography is part hip-hop, part funk, part R&B and a lot of soul.

The only point were Misch’s age does begin to show is during the latter third of the record when the songs begin to sound very analogous, thus closing out the record with a slight feeling of superfluousness. (JA) WWW

Love, Simon

This is one of those films you can thoroughly enjoy if you don’t get too cerebral about it. It’s sweet, it’s safe, it’s highly contrived with loads of familiar tropes. It’s a refreshingly mainstream gay themed rom-com, devoid of sinister undertones or sociopolitical subtext.

Simon Spier (Nick Robinson) is a goodlooking 17 year old with a precocious younger sister, two happily married parents, a great group of friends and a dark secret that one of his not-sogreat friends is threatening

to expose: Simon is gay.

The plot unfurls in two strands - Simon’s questionable actions to keep from being outed (basically by throwing his friends under the bus) and his quest to find an anonymous gay student with whom he has developed an email relationship.

The whole movie has the pace and depth of a sitcom with some genuinely funny one-liners and enough universal appeal to make everyone under the rainbow happy.

(RB)

WWW

record peaked at number six on the ARIA charts and was also chosen as a Triple J feature album.

The success of the record has seen Polaris quickly break out from being an unsung hero to one of the leaders of the heavy music scene in Australia.

According to Schneider the biggest change The Mortal Coil has imparted on Polaris’ future is simply that,“it’s weird looking ahead to this year and realising that there aren’t any support slots coming up, it’s all just us doing headliners or looking at international opportunities.”

With their success Polaris are excited to step up their game in terms of live shows, not just in their own performance but also in regards to the level of support acts they’re bringing along.

For the first time ever Polaris will be welcoming along an international act as one of their supports which Schneider said is, “really exciting because it’s been quite a while since a band on our level has done that.”

Apr 14. Factory Theatre, 105 Victoria Rd, Marrickville. $27+b.f.Tickets & Info: www.factorytheatre.com.au

Cosmic Psychos Loudmouth Soup

Cosmic Psychos recent album, Loudmouth Soup, is a grouping of scattered noise.

The songs are filled with repetitive chanting against a background of continuous noise, like playing the radio on low and running the kitchen fan at the same time.

The lyrics are graphic almost to the point of unpleasantness, especially since it is repeated many times after the listener has had time for an initial reaction, building over a few minutes. They are simple, literal and descriptive of some of the mundane moments in a life which makes them unusual in their unflinching observation of often gross subject matter.

In feeling, the tone of the music is angry as it is monotonous, it is vengeful without focus. This album is not for every listener but rather for connoisseurs of the creepy and the off-putting. (SP) W1/2

Paul, Apostle Of Christ

Yet another biblical film which showcases the unimaginable persecution Christians endured under Nero’s rule of the Roman Empire. Dark and morbid with gruesome torture and death scenes, the film focuses on the final days of Paul who is awaiting execution in the infamous Mamertine prison in Rome. Once a notorious persecutor of Christians, he was declared an enemy of the Roman Empire when he became an apostle of Christ.

Beautifully filmed on a shoestring budget of five million dollars in Malta, this religious drama should mesmerise church-going Christians, but may be predominantly dull and

an exhausting cinematic experience for non-religious movie-goers. The historical accuracy of this film is also questionable, with soap-like storylines added for dramatic effect.

The various accents of the actors detract (notably that of Olivier Martinez) and laughter may arise when a character appears on screen with what can only be described as an absurdly bad wig.

Why do filmmakers produce movies of this genre for the silver screen when they clearly belong on the Christian Cable Channels? For a superior biblical film revisit the original Ben Hur. (MMo) WW1/2 city hub 5 APRIL 2017

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PLAY IT YOUR WAY S Y D N E Y ’ S P L AYG R O U N D OF ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES

T H E S TA R S Y D N E Y. C O M . A U

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