City Hub 2 February 2017

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city hub 2 FEBRUARY2017

Opinion

Transport for NSW helps advertisers steal your data Kieran Adair You might not remember it, but once upon a time you were able to catch public transport in this city without being forced to digest the loud, obnoxious advertising that now litters our trains and buses.

You can thank our current Premier for that change. In 2013 when she was Transport Minister, Gladys Berejiklian sold the advertising rights for Sydney trains and stations to a cabal of outdoor advertising companies, gifting them 150 LCD screens that now blare advertising to commuters waiting on busy train platforms.

At the time, Berejiklian spruiked her plan’s use of “innovative technologies and new ideas”, claiming the advertising would deliver “at least $100 million over five years.”

I’m pretty sure there’s nothing ‘innovative’ about billboards - there’s already enough of them littering our public spaces - and as far as the $100 million’s concerned, none of it seems to have gone into a fare reduction.

Worse yet is the effect exposure to advertising might be having on our health.

Recent studies have linked the prevalence of junk food advertising to the growing problem of child obesity. According to Timothy Gill, an Associate Professor at the Boden Institute of Obesity, Nutrition and Exercise, “We know that children pester their parents about buying junk food and that being exposed to junk food advertising makes them agitate for these products more often. We have very clear evidence about that.”

A similar link applies to beauty advertising, and issues with body image, especially in women.

“Women and girls compare themselves to these images every day,” says Jean Kilbourne, director of Killing Us Slowly, “And failure to live up to them is inevitable because they are based on a flawlessness that doesn’t exist.”

Sydney buses will soon have access to Wi-Fi. Photo: Bidgee

People often claim to ignore advertisements, but the messages still get through on a subconscious level - whether they welcome or not - ruining our health, body image, and wallets.

It’s for this reason that another, more recent, announcement should be cause for concern. Earlier this month Andrew Constance, Berejiklian’s successor, was out spruiking another innovation for our bus network - a trial of free Wi-Fi on 50 buses.

“It is exciting to see another example of how public transport can be enhanced with technology,” he said.

While that sounds innocent enough, and maybe quite useful, the devil is in the fine print.

It won’t be the NSW Government providing the Wi-Fi, but APN Advertising, a beneficiary of the current advertising scheme.

Upon connecting to the Wi-Fi service, APN Outdoor will track the user’s location data as well as other non-specified private information,

which can be shared with third parties. This data includes name, address, date of birth, and location details - but can be extended to include photographs, credit card and employer details.

Greens MP Mehreen Faruqi is troubled by the news.

“The Transport Minister [Andrew Constance] is boasting this as a win for the public, but is failing to make clear how the free Wi-Fi is being paid for, burying the ‘catch’ in the fine print,” she says.

“Not making it clear to tens of thousands of bus commuters that they’ll be signing up to hand over their personal information to a private company is simply irresponsible.”

Tracking this kind of personal data is part of a new trend called behavioural advertising - where marketers aggregate troves of personal data and use it to make predictions about what a person’s likely to purchase.

Along with the privacy concerns regarding the aggregated data, these predictions “can not only change how people see themselves, but also cause them to modify their behavior” Rebecca Walker Reczek, Associate Professor of Marketing, wrote recently in The Conversation.

According to Yankelovich, a market research firm, a person living in a city 30 years ago saw up to 2,000 ad messages a day. Today that number is closer to 5,000 today. These ads have the ability to affect our health, body image, and even lifestyle decisions.

While the Government can’t control all advertising, the bulk of which happens online and on private billboards, it is within their power to limit its prevalence in the public spaces they control - buses, trains, ferries, and parks - and give us back our peace, quiet, and privacy on our commute home.

Invasion Day protests gain traction Published weekly and freely available Sydney-wide.

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

Distribution enquiries call 9212 5677.

Published by Altmedia Pty Ltd. While every effort is made to ensure accuracy of content, takes no responsibility for inadvertent errors or omissions.

ABN 52 600 903 348 Group Publisher: Lawrence Gibbons Group Editor: Angira Bharadwaj, Michael Forno Contributors: Kieran Adair, Angira Bharadwaj, Michael Forno, Charlotte Grieve and Andrew Woodhouse Arts Editors: Jamie Apps, Alannah Maher Advertising Managers: Mark Barnes, David Sullivan Cover Photo: Courtesy of Short+Sweet Designer: Nadia Kalinitcheva Advertising: sales@altmedia.net.au Mail: PO Box 843 Broadway 2007 Email: news@altmedia.net.au, arts@altmedia.net.au Ph: 9212 5677 Fax: 9212 5633 Website: altmedia.net.au

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CHARLOTTE GRIEVE 2017 has seen people take to the streets in unprecedented numbers to show solidarity with marginalised groups around the world.

Two years ago, on January 26, three hundred people gathered outside The Block in Redfern to show their solidarity with Australia’s First Nations people.

This year no fewer than three thousand showed up at the same spot for the invasion day protest.

The rally was part of the campaign to change the date of Australia Day. The campaign has gained significant traction this year, with more people actively engaged with the movement. Mentions of #changethedate have increased on Twitter by 850% since last year.

The event was oraganised by Elizabeth Jarred who addressed the crowd.

“We must walk together, we must walk united,” she said.

The protest was part of a string of demonstrations that saw thousands of Australians come together in capital cities across the country to oppose the celebration of Australia Day on January 26.

The date marks the anniversary of the arrival of the First Fleet and the raising of the Union Jack at Sydney Cove by Captain Arthur Phillip in 1788. To many Aboriginal Australians, the date marks the loss of their sovereign land rights and the precursor to genocide, the stolen generation and the dismantling of a culture that has been found to be more than 75,000 years old.

Another aim of the protest, organised by activist group Fighting In Resistance Equally,

Invasion Day Protest Sydney, Jan 26, 2016. Photo: Hana Edgar-Jones

was to bring attention to the ongoing issues faced by Indigenous Australians today.

“The invasion is still happening,” said Ken Canning, an aboriginal activist and writer from the Kunja Clan of the Bidjara Peoples, who was also speaking at the event.

Many of the speeches focused on aboriginal deaths in custody, mass incarceration and the ongoing struggle against racism experienced by indigenous Australians throughout society.

Ms Jarred told the crowd of the stolen generation of indigenous populations that “continues today.” A report launched last year by the Family Matters coalition found that Aboriginal children are 10 times more likely to be removed from their families than other children.

She also spoke to the loss of indigenous culture, with over 95 per cent of Aboriginal languages today being either dead or critically endangered, according to Ghil’ad Zuckermann, a professor of linguistics and endangered languages at Adelaide University.

Elders speaking at the event asked the audience to have a conversation about Australian history and indigenous issues, as many people remain “unaware” of Australia’s past and current treatment of indigenous peoples.

The protest ran into unrest when police intervened after man set an Australian flag on fire. One protester was knocked unconscious and a police officer sprained an ankle. The protests were otherwise peaceful. city hub 2 FEBRUARY 2017

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Development fears loom over Sydney’s renowned wetlands The golf course is proposed to be situated next to the Kingsford Smith Airport (pictured).

Photo: Sydney Airport Media Centre

BY MICHAEL FORNO Internationally renowned wetlands in Sydney’s south are under major threat of redevelopment if plans to turn it into a golf course go ahead.

The Cook Cove South Precinct redevelopment is planning to turn the wetlands into private land, including the construction of a new football stadium and golf course.

The land concerned is located just south of the airport on the Cooks River. The area is already highly developed being situated next to Wolli Creek and the Kingsford Smith Airport.

Environmental groups are concerned about the proposed plans.

On 21 January over 50 local residents and businesses attended an information session to view the Southern Precinct DA documents and provide feedback.

Among them was The Total Environmental Care (TEC), headed by Executive Director Jeff Angel.

“This private golf course which will take over a public park wants to clear important wetland vegetation and will surround an area visited by migratory species causing ongoing pollution and disturbance.”

“An area of such importance should be managed by a conservation body and enhanced because so much has already been lost,” he said.

The proposal would also see much public space being lost to the privately owned Kogarah Golf Course.

In a 24-page document, Securing our Future, produced by the Kogarah Golf Course, one brief paragraph deals with the environmental impacts of the proposed project.

“Two significant wetlands exist on the site that are presently considered to be in a poor state of repair by project environmentalist, Cumberland Ecology. It is intended that these wetlands will be rehabilitated and in the long term maintained in accordance with a Plan of Management to be approved as part of the New Golf Course DA. “The Club will facilitate access for the public and local ornithological groups to visit the wetlands to view migratory birds.”

However the TEC disagrees that the golf club can take adequate care of the wetlands. In a submission made regarding the DA on Cook Cove the TEC states: “The wetlands should not be under the control of the Golf Club which will have its golfing assets as its key concern. It is not an appropriate (conflicted) body to manage such an internationally important set of wetlands. They require their own conservation trustee that can fully advocate for their protection over time.”

The project is planned to commence in mid-2017.

Cartoonist: Peter Berner @peter_berner

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city hub 2 FEBRUARY 2017

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Room without a bay view

BY ANGIRA BHARADWAJ Local residents are furious after the NSW Land and Environment Court approved the development of a one-story height extension on an Elizabeth Bay apartment block.

The extension proposed for 13-17 Ithaca Road was initially applied for two-storeys but was amended and reduced to the addition of one new level containing two, three-bedroom apartments.

Resident Avi Ohana said the development will result in a loss of the harbour view, light and air circulation for his property.

“My unit is losing everything that we bought it for. We went to the Land Court thinking there was a chance to disturb the bond between the council and the developer but the whole court case was all for show.

“We voiced our concerns because to us this is absolutely devastating…Everything was pointing to say that yes you are absolutely right but we don’t care,” he said.

Mr Ohana said community members felt their views were disregarded in the court case.

“What we don’t understand is, why go to the Land Court when the council has agreed with the developer? The Court said if the two parties agree, why should they intervene?

“They are adding two great penthouses with a great view that they are stealing from us…We know for a fact that we are going to lose money on the apartment.”

Mr Ohana said making the broader community suffer for the benefit of two apartments was unjust.

“We have our hands tied behind our back because you can’t fight the council, you can’t fight the developer, you can’t fight anything. They can squash anyone,” he said.

The court acknowledged that some of the

Avi Ohana and

properties would be significantly impacted by the way of view losses, including Mr Ohana’s unit number 10. Acting Commissioner Hussey presided over the hearing.

“I am satisfied that greater weight should be given to the overall public interest considerations in approving the amended, substantially complying development notwithstanding the private interest loss of views from some units.

This outcome is inevitable in some circumstances.

“Whilst other objections were raised concerning loss of amenity in terms of light, air circulation and parking, there was no substantive evidence presented to support this speculation, so as to warrant refusal of this amended application, in my assessment of the evidence,” he said.

Kay Papadopoulos, also a resident of the building said she was disappointed by the court’s findings.

“In the case of 13-17 Ithaca Road, it will not have ‘inevitable view loss’ because Boomerang is in front and is Heritage listed, I understand. But what if it wasn’t? Is that loss inevitable?” she said.

“In our area, the apartments tend to be small.

The views give us more space and enjoyment of such tiny spaces- they prevent us being essentially entombed in the small apartments” Andrew Woodhouse, Co-convenor of the Elizabeth Bay Residents’ Society said the decision was disappointing.

“This appalling court decision is partly the court’s fault, which failed to justify its reasons or take account residents’ right to live in their chosen environment, and partly Sydney Council’s fault, which failed to represent residents properly. After all, just whose council is this, ours or theirs?” he said.

The City of Sydney Council was unable to provide a comment on the matter.

Kay Papadopoulos with fellow residents. Photo: Supplied

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Pocket change to tackle coastal climate change

BY ANGIRA BHARADWAJ An $80,000 grant to combat climate change has been granted to the Sydney Coastal Councils Group by the NSW Government.

The Building Resilience to Climate Change grant is aimed at supporting local governments in delivering projects aimed at minimising the local impact of climate change within the next 15 months.

Bruce Notley-Smith, Member for Coogee, said local councils have a role to play in responding to climate change threats that occur at a local level.

“As Coogee is a densely populated coastal electorate it is imperative that we continue to fund investigations into the risk that are associated with a changing climate. I’m confident that this money will further our understanding of those risks and provide some suggestions for mitigating them,” he said.

Amanda Mckenzie, CEO of the Climate Council said NSW, like the rest of Australia is highly vulnerable to climate change.

“We’re already a land of drought, flooding rain and extreme weather. Climate change exacerbates extreme weather over time.

“We’ve already seen extremely hot days with heatwaves becoming hotter, longer and more frequent,” she said.

Ms Mckenzie said Australia has a huge opportunity to improve its use of renewable energy sources.

“The first step is to prepare for worsening extreme weathers, to make sure that the community, health services, fire services and local councils are prepared. This grant is part of that and is really important.

“The second step is to tackle the root cause of the problem which is climate change. We need to make sure that we’re reducing emission from sources like coal, oil and gas and moving our energy sources to renewable energy sources,” she said.

The community will benefit from an $80,000 climate change grant.

Photo: Unsplash

Ms Mckenzie said that with the appointment of new Premier, Gladys Berejiklian, the State Government has the opportunity to do more for climate change.

Greens MP David Shoebridge said strong and immediate initiatives to tackle climate change need to occur at all levels of government.

“For coastal councils this means implementing proper coastal management guidelines, setting clear guidelines for sea level rise and putting an end to inappropriate coastal development.

“It also means being an advocate for local and global action on what is a looming climate emergency,” he said.

Mr Shoebridge said the work done by coastal councils needs to be supported with resourcing from the State Government that goes beyond individual grants.

“On the one hand the NSW government has given a one-off $80,000 grant and that’s good, while on the other they are routinely approving coal mines and coal mine extensions,” he said.

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Calls to put Parramatta Road back on track

BY MICHAEL FORNO There have been renewed calls to build a light rail running the length of Parramatta road.

Greens MP Jamie Parker started a petition last week calling on the government to extend the southeast light rail project on George Street down Broadway and down Parramatta Road.

“With our city growing and our roads clogged by traffic it is critical that we start investing in more light rail infrastructure,” he said earlier this week.

“I call on the government to support extending the light rail service to Parramatta Road and Balmain.”

The support for the project has been slow but strong with over 100 signatures now appearing on the petition.

One signatory to the petition, Wendy Kain, commented her eagerness for the project on the petition’s webpage.

“This idea has come of age. I’ve just returned from inner city Melbourne. The tram system allows things to run so smoothly and easily.

Studies show it would work well. Come on, do what’s good for the environment too,” she said.

Activist groups have also gotten behind the idea of extending Sydney’s once substantial light rail network.

Gavin Gatenby is the co-convener of EcoTransit Sydney. He has long advocated for an extension of the light rail network.

“With a modest investment in light rail, it’s now possible to remove tens of thousands of vehicle movements a day – particularly in the peak periods – from Parramatta Road and restore the historic thoroughfare as a pleasant and liveable place.

“The Parramatta Road Light Rail will distribute people throughout the densely populated inner west, and to the many services and attractors

An artist’s impression of the proposed light rail. Photo: Supplied

like universities, shops, hospital, businesses and parks,” he said.

Despite strong community support it seems unlikely that the light rail extension will happen any time soon. Many think it will share the

same fate as Mr Parker’s attempts to establish a new ferry service from the Glebe Foreshore to Circular Quay.

Sydney once had a larger tram network that Melbourne currently does with over

290 kilometres of track. Today’s light rail network consists of a single line running just 12 kilometres.

The petition can be found at www.jamieparker.org/lightrail

Opinion

Love me, love my pet

By Andrew Woodhouse Cats are from Venus and dogs are from Mars.

People with pet obsessions are often people without friends. In Sydney’s highly dense and ultra-modern inner-city apartments residents are lonelier and more isolated than ever and crave reciprocal affection. Two million people now live in apartments across New South Wales.

Psychologists say companion pets often add meaning to peoples’ lives. Children prefer them as friends rather than their siblings because they are non-judgemental and don’t argue back.

But quite frankly I doubt the affection is always reciprocal. If dogs and cats could talk back I reckon they’d say, “I am not going out in this cold”, or “What’s the luncheon delay?” or “You wear it. I’d not be seen dead in such a costume”.

I’m watching my neighbours closely. Do they talk to pets as if they’re human? Do they disregard others to molly-coddle their moggy? If so, they may be transferring affection to pets.

But pets aren’t just pets, they’re innately animal.

Dogs demand exercise. They can be aggressive, territorial, and frightening to children. They bark, defecate in public, scare native fauna and breed fleas. Their belligerent attitude is like Mars, the god of war. No wonder vulnerable people use them as security.

Cats on the other hand are like Venus, the goddess of beauty. They purr and they preen. They are fussy eaters, assume ownership of things and need pampering. They were even worshipped in ancient Egypt some 4,000 years ago.

However, they too wreak havoc in our cities and 8

city hub 2 FEBRUARY2017

Man’s best friend. Photo: Tookapic

towns. Most notably their hunting has devastating effects on native fauna.

New NSW strata apartment laws, on exhibition since July 2015, have now relaxed bans on pets and allow animals in apartments with owners’ corporation permission. Owners’ corporations can still apply additional rules about the number of animals permitted including their

height, size, weight and breed and use of common property.

Grant Mifsud, a partner at Archers Strata Professionals, says unit occupiers are increasingly being asked to provide extensive information about their pets for rental properties.

“We’ve seen incidents where aggressive dogs have caused harm to, or intimidated, neighbours,

cats have destroyed carpets, and birds have been incredibly noisy and disruptive,” he says.

“Real estate agents and building managers are employing extra caution when screening tenants with pets.”

The NSW Companion Animals Act, sections 12 and 13, requires dogs to be collared and tagged in public and “be under the effective control of some competent person”.

So, if your pooch is off-leash roaming parks and streets you can be fined by Sydney Council’s officious rangers.

However, the barking mad Sydney Council has given over some public parks for dogs to roam free and create havoc; annoying picnickers and concerning mothers with small children. Paid professional dog walkers are free to unleash swathes of dogs for hours into these canine crèches. This is not good management. The council should fine itself for breaching of the Companion Animals Act. I was shocked when Oscar (pictured), a pedigree Maltese Terrier cross was banned by local strata rules.

After all, this breed was friend to the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle.

Does intellectual pedigree count for anything?

Apparently not.

There were 40 days and 40 nights of mourning when Oscar left to stay with relatives temporarily.

He’s now back home, fully ensconced.

But perhaps we could have avoided all this by interacting with real people.

Andrew Woodhouse is President, Potts Point & Kings Cross Heritage & Residents’ Society

Cats and kittens available at our Adoption Centre - 103 Enmore Road Newtown Cat care products including Breeder’s Choice, Hill’s Science Diet and more Visit our website www.catprotection.org.au Contact us on 9519 7201 for the full range of our discount desexing services

city hub 2 FEBRUARY 2017

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FEATURE

SHORT+SWEET Celebrates Theatre & Film

By Rocio Belinda Mendez The notorious ‘biggest, little theatre festival in the world’, is celebrating it’s sweet 16th this year in its city of origin – Sydney! A now global festival, Short+Sweet is presenting contemporary, experimental, artistic, and exciting works that challenge, inform and entertain their audience; all within the short span of 10 minutes.

With over 120 segments of storytelling unfolding this year, Wayne Tunks, Festival Director for 2017 has added some innovative elements into the programme. They are sure to please, and provide more opportunity for inspiration on and off the stage. Having been a participant himself, in the original 2003 Short+Sweet, Tunks is no stranger to the theatre world. Using his prolific industry experience, and his own personal story as inspiration, this year S+S has implemented a Short+Sweet Queer category to coincide with Mardi Gras. A new facet of the festival showcasing LGBT talent, narratives and the like. “As a gay writer, actor and director myself, I always feel very passionate telling stories about my community,” he said. The programs in the Short+Sweet Queer are very wide and eclectic in ideas, topics and presentation – a very exciting addition to commemorate its 16th year.

Another innovation is the Festival Directors Choice Award. “[It’s] a way for me to honour a play that’s missed out from the awards, one that I believe has done an outstanding job, has a wonderful script, and has used the collaborative experience to produce a great result.”

Beard, winner of the Festival Directors Choice award, and a fellow contestant in the Short+Sweet Queer category, is wowing the festival already.

A play based on two strangers that meet outside of a religious gay therapy clinic. They quickly find common ground through an awkward introduction, leading to a bonding conversation about keeping their sexuality a secret due to family disapproval. They decide to be

Beard.

Photo: Robert Minite

each other’s ‘beard’. “Mainly the term “beard” is used when a gay person asks a straight person to pretend to be in a heterosexual relationship with them,” said co-writer and director Robert Minitier.

Partly inspired by a true story of a man who documented his experience in an aversion therapy center for homosexuality, read by both Minitier and co-writer/fellow cast member Erin Middleton.

Beard is a touching and heart-warming play that keeps itself raw, and without flash. “We use very normal colours, and unassuming clothes. There are no props, no special lighting, it’s a pretty naked production,” explained Minitier. “A reminder that as much as you lie to yourself, you’re inadvertently going to do what benefits you. Love yourself, and love other people, and what you are.”

Dead Giveaway is the winner of week one, and showcases an interesting love story. “Robert buys his wife an unconventional gift for Valentine’s Day – a double burial plot, which leads to an awkward conversation about love after death.” This comedy celebrates laughter and seeing the absurdity in a seemingly innocent situation, poking fun at everyday

circumstances in relationships. A creative and interesting story that touches on serious topics all the while keeping it light, and relatable. “You can have a good quality fun comedy in 10 minutes, a satisfying audience experience. It’s lighthearted and it’s meant to be taken that way,” explained co-director and cast member Felicity Burke.

Another amazing aspect of this Short+Sweet festival is the Wildcards selections, which are shown during the weekends. Plays that didn’t get picked in the main season have another chance to be seen during the Wildcard season, another way this wonderful festival is supporting and nurturing creative expression and talent, and allowing opportunity to be inevitable for the contestants. “[This festival is] such an amazing opportunity for people to come together and create art. It’s about that collaborative experience. Short+Sweet gives people the opportunity to create theatre that they otherwise might not have been able to do. A way to trial out their work, and stretch their legs through theatre,” said Tunks.

Wayne himself has completed a non-competition

play called 8 Months and 17 Days, which will show during the Wildcards, then later on in the Short+Sweet Queer segments.

One final element of Short+Sweets’ 16th birthday celebrations is the addition of the brand new Film division. After years of showcasing live performance, whether that be theatre, dance or music, but with so many great stories still to draw it was finally time to explore non-live storytelling, and thus the move to film was only natural.

The winning film from Sydney will be screened in Los Angeles at the Short+Sweet Hollywood Film Festival International Grand Finals in late 2017, with many other awesome prizes up for grabs such as mentorships, management and equipment.

Short+Sweet Film screenings will take place on Mondays throughout February at Blood Moon before a grand final at Dendy Cinema Newtown, programme to be announced February 7.

This year more than ever, Short+Sweet provides an exciting and varied festival program with 10-minute bites to sink your teeth into.

SHORT+SWEET THEATRE Until Mar 18, Weds-Sun, 7.30pm.

The Depot Theatre, 142 Addison Rd, Marrickville. $23-$30.

Wildcards: Until Mar 5, Sat + Sun, 4pm. $23-$30.

Short+Sweet Queer: Mar 7 + 8, 7.30pm. $23-$30.

Festival Director’s Showcase: Mar 9 + 10. $23-$30.

People’s Choice Showcase: Mar 11 + 12, 7.30pm. $23-$30.

Gala Finals: Mar 16-18, 7.30pm. $30-$38.

SHORT+SWEET FILM Feb 13, 20, 27 + Mar 13, 7pm. Blood Moon Theatre in The World Bar, 24 Bayswater Rd, Kings Cross. $15-$20.

Finals: Mar 19, 6pm. Dendy Cinema, 261-263 King St, Newtown. $25-$30.

Tickets & info: www.shortandsweet.org

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The Hon Tanya Plibersek MP Member for Sydney TEMPORARY ELECTORATE OFFICE at 672 Crown Street, Surry Hills will open from 6 February 2017 (Corner of Crown and Cleveland Streets) Please call in, phone or email us.

9 am – 5 pm, Monday-Friday Tel: (02) 9379 0700 Email: Tanya.Plibersek.MP@aph.gov.au The former electorate office at 150 Broadway, Chippendale has been closed because of serious building damage and will not re-open 0032DD

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Losing You (Twice)

Kate & Daniel O’Keefe.

Photo: Paul Jeffers

In July 2011, 24-year-old Victorian man, Daniel O’Keeffe went missing. His family – parents and three sisters – had no clue or explanation as to why Daniel would have disappeared and where he could be. For the next five years they engaged in public appeals, a social media campaign that went global, chasing down false sightings and fruitless leads, and hoping, continuously hoping.

Then by chance, in March 2016, Daniel’s remains were discovered; his father found them while digging beneath their Geelong home. It was a cruel final twist to an already heartbreaking story.

REVIEW: Odd Man Out

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city hub 2 FEBRUARY 2017

The party hub of Mardi Gras, The Vegas Lounge is an evening of comic cabaret that is part sideshow, part karaoke, and a whole lot of fun.

After the success of SCREAMERS! in 2015 and playing to sold-out audiences for last year’s Mardi Gras show Judy, Barbara, Liza, Bette! – the glamorous Velma Vegas takes to the stage for a fiendish show that celebrates diversity and abolishes Sydney’s lockout laws.

The show kicks off every night with artist Blak Douglas performing a thundering didgeridoo beat piece.

Velma will be joined by a consciously diverse rota of one-night-only guest stars starting with Joseph Chetty this Friday and acts including ‘sex clown’ Betty Grumble and White Knuckle Fever’s Celia Curtis as alter ego Anita Douche.

With comfortable cabaret table seating and action taking place over three different stages “the audience is going to be spinning around all night”.

Director Gavin Vance explained that if there is a through line to their shows, it is that the Screamers! always seek to examine the people in power. “We started to believe we had a magical power to actually unseat powerful leaders,” he said, reflecting that Abbott was ousted by Turnbull only a week before their 2015 show.

to exercises gleaned from an Asperger’s help manual. As may be expected, the results are hilarious.

The supporting cast of Gael Ballantyne, Rachel Gordon, Matt Minto and Bill Young play the parents and friends of the couple.

I’m always surprised by the clever use the Ensemble makes of its very limited stage, and this play is no exception, with six coloured cubes on stage and a lit wall as a backdrop that suggests the working of a brain on a screen.

Mark Kilmurry strikes the right chord in his direction of this romantic comedy, which is the 20th work of Williamson’s the Ensemble has staged since 1998.

In this work, don’t expect the volley of oneliners Williamson has made his own: this brave and important and powerful work deals with a serious psychological subject, which the playwright treats with great humanity and compassion and a gentle sense of humour. (ID) Until Mar 18, Ensemble Theatre, 78 McDougall St, Kirribilli. $43-$71.

Tickets & info: www.ensemble.com.au

Photo: Clare Hawley

The Odd Man Out of David Williamson’s latest play is Ryan (Justin Stewart Cotta), the Asperger’s genius who’s brilliant on physics and cold, hard logic but lacks the emotional intelligence to succeed in his personal relationships.

The play opens with a humorous scene in which he is trying to court his future wife Alice (Lisa Gormley), who is taken aback by his direct, even blunt, approach but succumbs to his insistent attention.

After their marriage and a number of intensely awkward social moments with friends and family, Alice tries to socialise Ryan by introducing him

The Vegas Lounge

In Losing You (Twice), Daniel’s sister, Kate O’Keeffe shares the experience and the connected emotions in what she calls “theatrical storytelling”. It’s a sequel to a similar piece she performed when Daniel first went missing.

With such raw and personal material to perform alone on stage, it’s little wonder people often ask her ‘Why do you want to put yourself through that night after night?’

O’Keeffe explained: “I feel like I need to do something, and this is what I can do… I’m living it anyway. I’m already feeling all those emotions pretty much every day anyway.”

“I want it to help break the stigma of depression and mental illness… I found it even hard to talk to my brother about him having depression.”

Her family have been very supportive and she particularly acknowledges the input of director Paul Gilchrist, who saw the merit in her idea and helped bring it to stage. She hopes it will help finally bring some closure. (RB) Feb 7–11, 7:30pm. King Street Theatre, 644 King St, Newtown. $15/$25 online, $25/$30 door.Tickets & info: www.kingstreettheatre.com.au If this article has raised any concerns for you, visit the Missing Persons Advocacy Network at www.mpan.com.au or call Lifeline Australia on 13 11 14

12 STAGE 13 Sounds 14 SCENE 15 SCREEN

“So it’s interesting then that this show that we’re doing now has a very strong ‘Keep Sydney Open’…anti-lockout laws message to it, and only two weeks ago ‘Casino Mike’ Baird is toppled,” he added.

Vance encourages audiences to bring their friends, lounge around in the air-conditioning and stay back for a drink with the cast and crew. As for his favourite act, he looks forward to Velma’s performance of the disco hit ‘Maniac’ rewritten about President Trump, “It’s hilarious and it will let people let off some steam!” (AM) Feb 3–Mar 3, Fridays 8pm. Sound Lounge at The Seymour Centre, cnr City Rd & Cleveland St, Chippendale. $27.50-$37.50.

Tickets & info: www.seymourcentre.com

Cavalleria Rusticana/ Pagliacci Passion, jealousy and murder are played out in these two melodious Italian operas that Opera Australia is presenting as a double bill in its 2017 summer season.

In Cavalleria Rusticana Turiddu (Diego Torre) returns from the war to find his sweetheart Lola (Sian Pendry) married to Alfio (Jose Carbo). He takes up with Santuzzo (Dragana Radakovic) only to drop her when Lola starts flirting with him.

Unable to escape the fate of the 19th Century operatic heroine, Santuzza does the only thing available to her, and that is to tell Alfio that his wife has been unfaithful to him.

Unable to escape the curse of the 19th century operatic hero, Alfio does the only thing available to him and that is… you’ll have to see the opera to find out.

All I can tell you now is that it all ends very messily, although the music is very pretty, the sets are authentic Italian village bakery and conductor Andrea Licata wrings maximum emotion from the score.

We all know the story of Pagliacci, the sad clown, sung in this production by Diego Torre

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

in the role of Canio. Again, jealousy is the catalyst in the story in which Canio’s flirtatious wife Nedda (Anna Princeva) is bound to come off the worse when her spouse is told of her infidelities.

In the famous clown aria, Diego Torre conveys the Pagliacci’s heartbroken despair before he goes on to …

Suffice to say the opera has a bloody ending, but you will have to see it to find out what happens.

If OA’s aim was to please audiences in this summer season, it has succeeded in full measure. The stages might be littered with bodies but the Sydney audiences are just lapping it up. Don’t forget your hankies! (ID) Until Feb 4. Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House. $23-$338.

Tickets & info: www.sydneyoperahouse.com

Contributors: Carmen Cita, Craig Coventry, Greg Webster, Alicia Sim, Peter Urquhart, James Harkness, Leann Richards, Lisa Seltzer, Mark Morellini, Mel Somerville, Rocio Belinda Mendez, Sarah Pritchard, Athina Mallis, Leigh Livingstone, Joseph Rana, Shon Ho, Jacqui Rothwell, Emily Shen, Andrew Hodgson, Irina Dunn, Caitlin Burns, Zeiya Speede, Rita Bratovich, Chantal Walsh, Raffaele Piccolo, Barbara Karpinski, Taylah Felice, Georgia Fullerton, Bobby Stephenson, Olga Azar, Kaiti Haviland, Daniel Jaramillo, Nina Beeston.

REVIEW: Retro Futurismus and performance are playthings not only reserved for male drag queens and women under 40.

The ensuing hour of acts featuring the full cast of collaborators – Gabi Barton, Anna Lumb, Teresa Blake and special guest Moses – is as diverse as it is bizarre. There’s a giant cloud-like creature that literally shits bricks, a sexy dancing metallic worm, giant cockroaches, a bikini made of bricks.

No other show over the Festival has used the Spiegeltent so immersively, with characters bobbing and weaving through the audience – astronauts even Putting the “odd” into “space odyssey”, Retro descend from the rafters!

Futurismus is a variety show that nods to the Every performance in Retro Futurismus is minimalistic future dreamed up in yesteryear as fuelled by character and every performer it explores a post-apocalyptic nuclear wasteland. appeared liberated by the unfiltered freedom of This vaudeville show doesn’t neatly fit into this independent production. The few acts what we know to be cabaret, burlesque or involving full-frontal nudity were funnily enough circus. the least sexualised of the bunch.

Retro Futurismus finally emerged onto the Retro Futurismus provides exactly the type of Sydney stage in the Magic Mirrors Spiegeltent kitschy escapism we need in these present times for Sydney Festival. of tech saturation and political madness. May its Masterminds Anni and Maude Davey kick off creators crash land on our city again soon and their hosting duties in gold jumpsuits and take us back to their planet. (AM) rubber heels, shoulder pads and hair reaching Retro Futurismus played at Sydney for the gods, proving that outrageous fashion Festival’s Meriton Festival Village Jan 24-29.

Anni and Maude Davey. Photo: Prudence Upton

Live Music Guide LIVE WIRE Sydney

By Jamie Apps

Tycho: Tycho’s meticulously crafted electronic music is equally suited to headphones, a blissed-out festival setting or the dancefloor. Performed live by Scott Hansen and his three band members, this show will be an audio/visual stand-out of the summer.

Thu, Feb 2, Metro Theatre White Lung: Sonically frenetic, White Lung deftly defy genre definitions. Sitting proudly on one side of the punk spectrum, the band unselfconsciously lurch into the realms of melodic rock and pop. Joining White Lung will be attitude-dripping Sydney outfit Phantastic Ferniture, who are beloved for their glowing garage pop and intoxicating vocal stylings.

Thu, Feb 2, Newtown Social Club From Mania To Revolution: You Am I legend Davey Lane brings together the cream of Australia’s music fraternity to present two full sets of Beatles classics:“Eight Days A Week of Beatlemania (The Live Years)” and “Revolution in the Head (Innovation That Changed The World)”.

Fri, Feb 3, Manning Bar Trophy Eyes: Hailing from Newcastle, Australia, Trophy Eyes have created a new wave of alternative punk music. Hot off a gigantic year which saw them performing alongside the likes of Parkway Drive, Tonight Alive, Hands Like Houses and The Amity Affliction, the boys from Newcastle are set to take to the stage for their biggest Australian tour ever.

Fri, Feb 3, Oxford Art Factory

Mike Nock and Laurence Pike: Mike Nock and Laurence Pike have shared a musical friendship spanning nearly 20 years. Over this time they have both created a wealth of divergent and inspiring music. Their two duo albums together have seen them develop a shared language of improvised music as a vehicle for spiritual discovery and storytelling.

Sat, Feb 4, Seymour Centre – Sound Lounge Alex Parkmen & Friends: After a series of successful performances overseas, Sydney-based pianist Alex Parkmen returns to Camelot Lounge to launch his new album IN THE MOOD. A graduate of Kiev Conservatorium, Alex was trained as both classical and jazz pianist.

Sun, Feb 5, Camelot Lounge My Leonard Cohen: Performed

by Stewart D’Arrietta and a six-piece band, featuring some of Australia’s best rock musicians.

D’Arrietta’s musical interpretations are gutsy and arresting and the stories he tells give an insight into Cohen’s life and the motivations behind the songs with a sprinkling of laconic humour. Stewart and his band will perform 18 songs including the heartrending ‘Suzanne’. The iconic ‘Tower of Song’, the seductive ‘I’m Your Man’, the rousing ‘Hallelujah’ plus many more.

Mon, Feb 6, Sydney Opera House

By Jamie Apps After an action packed 2016, which saw Canberra’s most recognisable alt-rock exports Hands Like Houses touring the world and hitting number seven on the ARIA charts, they’re hoping to keep the momentum rolling right into 2017 by quickly kicking off a national tour in Marrickville tomorrow night.

Despite releasing their new record Dissonants at the beginning of 2016, frontman Trenton Woodley says they never expected the year to be as big as it was.

“We knew we’d done something special with Dissonants so felt it could give us the opportunities that we wanted, but we just didn’t know if it would.Things picked up pace really quickly and it just felt like everything lined up perfectly, it really was a case of producing the right record at the right time.”

Not only did the band finally see

Elki – Golden Age

Glugs Theatre Awards The Glugs Theatre Group will celebrate its 50th Anniversary this year, hosting an awards ceremony which has been running for over 20 years. Honouring the talent and creativity within the Australian theatre scene, The Glugs’ list of nominees represents directors, writers, actors and productions staged in the previous 12 months.

The oddly named entity came into existence in 1966, when a group of actors, critics, journalists and theatregoers started meeting for lunch to discuss all things theatre. They occasionally invited industry guests to give a talk – over the years those guests have included some of the biggest names in film and television both local and international.

Beverley Davies joined the group with her husband back when it began, and has been the co-ordinator for over 20 years.

“It means something now,” said Davies. “One of our winners went to L.A. and had an interview with an agent and had [the Glug Award] on her resume and he said ‘oh yes, we’ve heard of those.’”

This year’s awards will feature a very comprehensive list of industry talent and

Nominee - Little Shop Of Horrors.

Photo: Jeff Busby

productions and will be well attended.

“We sometimes have a performer at the Glugs awards but we haven’t got enough room this year, there are so many people coming,” Davies beams.

Anyone is welcome to join The Glugs and come to the lunches and Davies is particularly pleased to see more young blood: “New younger people that are interested in the theatre are coming [to the lunches] and loving it.” (RB) Feb 6, 6pm. 4th Floor, Castlereagh Hotel, 169 Castlereagh Street, Sydney.

List of nominations & info about lunches: www.glugs.com.au

Hands Like Houses

incredible responses from Australia after “six to eight years chipping away” but they continued to see lots of success internationally.“We were finding that most of what we were doing was connecting more overseas,” explained Woodley.“We got to play Carolina Rebellion, Rock On The Range and Northern Invasion, which are all part of the massive touring rock festival circuit in the US, so that was a big highlight

Elki’s Golden Age is a siren call to the members of the growing generation.

Born from universal concerns and the changing world surrounding the young, each of these themes is wrapped up in tribal rhythms that are very attractive to the ear.

A chorus and rhythmic clapping intrigues the listener, creeps around them like animal voices calling out from the forest and in the middle of a clearing, hits them with poignant truths.

The sweeping motion of the music catches the listener up in its momentum, swirling around them like the echoing sounds in a warped cave.The listener calls out and hears their own voice coming back at them.

Step into the textured vortex that is Golden Age and imbibe it with your ears. (SP) WWW1/2

for us. Especially at Rock On The Range playing to probably twenty or thirty thousand people who were pouring out of the main stage area into our area.”

Obviously with such a busy schedule under their belts a much needed rest over the festive break was well overdue. Although the band didn’t get much time to relax before beginning the planning phase of this tour, Woodley says it

was “just enough” and that after such a hectic year they will be changing strategies this year: “We’re definitely going to be a bit more focused on our opportunities in order to really make the most of a couple of key tours rather than going all out to see what sticks.

Hopefully this plan allows us to have a little more breathing room to start putting our thoughts together and do some writing towards whatever comes next.”

“There will be a little bit of nerves getting back on the horse,” said Woodley, commenting on how the Sydney show will be both kicking off the tour and their first show back from break. “But at the same time this is a close as we get to a home town show so we’ll be throwing ourselves in headfirst.”

Feb 3, 8pm. Factory Theatre, 105 Victoria Rd, Marrickville. $25.

Tickets & info: www.factorytheatre.com.au

Kingswood – After Hours, Close To Dawn

After hours, Close to Dawn is a rolling force, unconcerned with its reception. Coming in chilled like relaxed brainwaves, meandering towards the listener’s ears and sliding in smooth and slow.

Melting over the listener like candle wax, taking its time and ignoring any other voice.The malleable listener begins to feel themselves gravitate towards this slow and sad music. Embracing the undisturbed rhythms so that their own thoughts begin to resemble the sound.

Mellow like a light breeze, undirected but moving, Kingswood’s latest masterful combination of the good bits from many genres creeps into its listener, flowing through their blood like autumn leaves, neither pushing nor pulling but floating in between.

This is music that the listener will imbibe without conscious thought but with a pleasant feeling that seems to be inside the songs themselves. (SP) WWW1/2 city hub 2 FEBRUARY 2017

13

THE NAKED CITY

With Coffin Ed Phillip Johnston is an expatriate American who has called Australia home since 2005 and become an integral part of the local music scene – both as a musician with his group The Greasy Chicken Orchestra and as a composer with his numerous silent film projects. Whilst Phillip has composed music for major Hollywood films, it’s his scores for a number of historic silent films for which he is best known in this country.

In 1998 he was commissioned by the Film Society of the Lincoln Centre in New York to write a score for Teinosuke Kinugasa’s 1926 Japanese silent film, Kurutta Ippeji (A Page of Madness). He remembers: “I had not been aware of the film until then, and when they screened it for me, I was immediately struck by what a unique and unusual film it was, and what a great opportunity it presented to do something different in film scoring.”

The film recalls the early works of German Expressionist silent film in the style of ‘The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari’. With no title cards, the narrative is told entirely in images, and was shot on location in a mental asylum.

Page of Madness was Phillip’s third silent film score, after scores for the ‘The Unknown’ (1927) and the Georges Méliès Project (1899-1909). Originally premiering in New York in 1998 it was enthusiastically received at the 2008 Sydney Film Festival.

As he notes: “I immediately saw Page of Madness as an opportunity to use greater elements of free improvisation and extended techniques that felt in harmony with the nature of the film. But I didn’t just want to ‘play free’ to the film (though I think that is another

Phillip Johnston

SCORING A PAGE OF MADNESS

valid approach), so I created a score that combined largely chromatic written material with improvisation that was carefully scored to the film. We initially used synchronised stopwatches to stay in sync with the film while improvising; in

more recent performances, I rely only on carefully notated visual cues to keep the score and the film in sync.”

Whilst he had never considered performing the music from Page Of Madness without the actual film, he eventually decided he could reinvent the piece in a way that it could function on its own. Hence the current format of The Page Of Madness: Suite For Improvisers.The “Suite” was first presented in New York in 2015 as part of a residency at The Stone, commissioned by its artistic director John Zorn.

Now, as part of SIMA’s Summer Jazz series, Phillip will present the Australian premier of the Suite For Improvisers, with a most impressive ensemble of local musicians. He explains: “I’ve been lucky to get musicians of the quality of Lloyd Swanton, Sandy Evans, James Greening, Andrew Robson, Matt McMahon, Jason Noble, Alex Silver and Paul Cutlan – to name just a few. A piece based on improvisation can only succeed with top flight musicians, and I’m so fortunate to have them here.”

I asked Phillip what the Sydney audience can expect from this performance and he replied: “I think they can expect to be surprised.They will certainly hear some wonderful soloists, some in a different context than they may have heard them before.They will hear some music that is simple and beautiful, and some that features some thorny counterpoint and explosive musical gestures.They will hear a film soundtrack without a film, and an orchestral big band composition featuring some of the most unique musicians I’ve met here in Sydney, who will lift it up beyond the notes written on the page and bring it to life.”

The Page Of Madness: Suite For Improvisers – Feb 11, from 8pm.The Sound Lounge at the Seymour Centre, cnr City Rd & Cleveland St, Chippendale. $25-$38.

Tickets & info: www.sima.org.au

Vernon Ah Kee: Not RTX an animal or a plant Sydney

Walking through Vernon Ah Kee’s current exhibition at the National art school gallery, I was reminded of the theorist Fred Moten’s work with black optimism. The abjection of blackness pre-empts, undergirds and allows for modern America. But black life persists even in colonial violence, in conditions of social death.

Ah Kee declares as much in the exhibition’s title, Not an animal or a plant, and it shows through in his emotionally rich, large scale portraits. In the series Fantasies of the Good we see resting portraits, yet in Hallmark of the Hungry we see a bound and empty figure, and in Brutalities we see rage.

Ah Kee highlights the distinctly Australian expression of racism in Waltzing Matilda, a text based piece that collages racial slurs, slogans and reference to racist mob violence 14

city hub 2 FEBRUARY 2017

with ‘Waltzing Matilda’, the distinct paean to anglo-Australian heritage. But Ah Kee’s works invite one to think globally.

In one piece, Born in this Skin, slurs against Aboriginal Australians sit next to praise for South African Apartheid, with one piece of graffiti directly linking the White Australia Policy to Apartheid with the conjunction “and”. Next to each other, one has to confront the internationalism of anti-black racism. As protests against mass incarceration and police brutality have lit like wildfire across the US, the take-away question here, I think, is: what are the conditions of domestic and international solidarity against racism?

(ZS) Until Mar 11, 11am-5pm. National Art School Sydney, Forbes Street, Sydney.

FREE. Info: www.nas.edu.au

When I was growing up our idols all came from television, sport or movies. For the younger generations though, as the internet and Youtube have become a seamless part of our lives, ‘internet celebrities’ have become the people to admire. This weekend’s RTX Sydney event celebrates these people and gives Australian fans their first opportunity to meet them as well as learn more about internet culture and the gaming industry.

RTX Sydney is the international expansion of an event which began in Austin, Texas in 2011. The first ‘Rooster Teeth Expo’, as it would come to be known, was initially planned as a small gathering for only 200 hardcore fans but swelled to over 500 within minutes. Since then RTX has seen rapid growth from 5000 attendees in 2012 to 45,000 in 2015.

You might be asking what these fans are so fanatical about?

They all love a company called Rooster Teeth and their affiliation YouTube channels – Kinda Funny, Funhaus and Achievement Hunter. The production company was founded in 2003 by Burnie Burns, Matt Hullum, Geoff Ramsey, Gus Sorola and Joel Heyman after their incredibly successful Red vs. Blue YouTube series exploded in popularity.

Rooster Teeth has since gone on to produce live action shorts, movies and cartoons.

Joining the Rooster Teeth crew on the bill are legendary video game producer Hideo Kojima, Kinda Funny’s Greg Miller and Tim Gettys and finally RWBY voice actress Barbara Dunkelman.

If you have even a passing interest in video games, video production and YouTube this is a must attend event this weekend. (JA) Feb 4–5, 10:30am-6:30pm.

International Convention Centre, 14 Darling Drive, Sydney. $50-$75.

Tickets & info: www.rtxsydney.com

Resident Evil:

Australia’s first mumblecore film is set to premiere in Sydney and should provide an alternative cinematic experience for audiences who are disillusioned by the regurgitation of multimillion dollar blockbusters.

A sub-genre of independent films, these movies are characterised by low budgets, improvised dialogue, minimal technical resources, small casts and crews, and are ordinarily filmed by handheld cameras.

The story focuses on Jules (Jenni Townsend), a twenty-something year old, who relocates from Adelaide to Melbourne and moves in with her girlfriend Sam (Rain Fuller) and her partner.

Friendships, new beginnings and the struggles of youth are explored and the explosive

Ben Affleck wrote, directed and stars in what can only be described as a movie-length selfie. Live By Night had the pedigree of a bestselling book by Dennis Lehane and three commendable previous directorial efforts by Affleck.

Unfortunately it still turned out to be a runt.

Set during the post-WWI prohibition era the action takes place in Boston and then Tampa, Florida. Joe Coughlin (Affleck) is a small time criminal whose felonious talent gets him recruited first by an Irish mob leader, then an Italian rival. So begins the parade of caricatures.

The plot laboriously unfolds as a tedious, confusing saga.

The dialogue is dull and full of self-righteous aphorisms.Affleck

Film critics have never been kind to this film franchise, but an enormous fan base worldwide has transformed this into the highest grossing film series to be based on video games.

Fans won’t be disappointed in the final chapter as some old characters join forces with protagonist Alice (Milla Jovovich) in this dark and gritty postapocalyptic world to fight an action-packed battle with the undead hordes and new mutant monsters.

Strong horror themes prevail in this fast-paced, exceedingly loud, violent, action-horror zombie fest, with blood curdling effects and death defying stunts which

SYDNEY SCREENING: Feb 7, 6:30pm. Chauvel Cinemas, 249 Oxford Street, Paddington. $15.Tickets & info: www.trybooking.com

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change which Jules ultimately brings into her friend’s life.

Dialogue is paramount to plot in this dramedy which also ignites subtle romantic themes that lead to an unpredictable and strangely satisfying conclusion.

Production values are obviously low, but this award-winning film (which is clearly a labour of love) should inspire up-andcoming filmmakers, and also resonates that respectable films can be produced with minimal resources and an abundance of talent. (MMo)

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assigns his three leading females (Sienna Miller, Zoe Saldana and Elle Fanning) to barely more than plot devices.

Visually, the film is stunning with meticulous and stylish detail.

The photography and action sequences are also impressive.

But it’s not enough.

Ironically, it is Affleck himself who is most disappointing. His entire range is represented in the promotional stills – square jawed, catalogue model expression, unwrinkled, unstained white suit. He’s in almost every scene but is just in the way. He’s a photo-bomber in his own movie.

Affleck may want to bury this at the bottom of his resume alongside Pearl Harbor. (RB) WW

The Final Chapter

should ensure there isn’t a dull moment in the biggest and most terrifying instalment in the franchise.

For optimum enjoyment it’s not mandatory for first-time viewers to have watched the previous chapters, a summation is served in the beginning which makes this a perfect stand-alone film.

There are plenty of surprises in this suspenseful cross between Mad Max Fury Road and World War Z, and anticipation grows from the onset as Alice announces:“My name is Alice and this is the end of my story”.

But is this really the end of the story? (MMo) WWW1/2

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