Top 10 Sydney Culture On this week 19/01/2020
It is the brain, the little grey cells, on which one must rely. Without a brain to react to the rapid consumption of 20 beers, how else would one be able to get through a story slam?
10) The Sydney Moth StorySLAM: ADVENTURE
21st January
What: Prepare a five-minute story about an experience outside your usual sphere of comfort. Dangerous outings, dubious cohorts, uncharted territory. The joy of the unknowing…the terror of the finding out. Escapades, romps and walkabouts. May the force be with you.
Why: Nothing reveals the complex, delicate emotional and intellectual impact of the art of storytelling like a five minute slam competition.
9) Please Explain: No One’s Drowning, Baby
19th January
What: Pacific Island nations, like Australia, are in the midst of a climate change crisis. This edition of 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art’s Please Explain talk series takes Marshall Islander poet, performance artist, educator Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner’s address and poem “Dear Matafele Peinem”, presented at the 2014 Opening Ceremony of the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Summit as a starting point for discussion on the role artists and activists play in this major challenge facing our Pacific region. What stories are being told across our ocean, and what are we to lose if the crisis is not met with appropriate action? What is the role of art and policy here – what can we do?
Why: A relevant discussion of the complex economic factors affecting the censorship of information concerning the climatic catastrophe we are facing and the enduring role of art as an anti-censorship tool that’ll make you look really woke on your Instagram feed.
8) Pray for Rain
19th January
What: You are invited to gather to pray and meditate for rain and a return to peace in our beautiful country. The intention for this gathering is to connect everyone with the power of their hearts and minds and to see all the people, animals and plants returned to health and peace. Bring light and loving energy to the situation. It’s important to be with others and remember the power of the human spirit to overcome, and the power of nature to regenerate. Join everyone in guided meditation and healing dance. Guided by Ian Mills (from Meditate With Friends) and Biba (founder of Alchemy of Dance).
Why: It’s going to be hilarious.
https://on.com.au/search/events/Pray-For-Rain-For-Australia/1fdfd750-38b9-11ea-96b7-b132cf2a7536
7) Carmen
20th January-26th March
What: In the colourful streets of a colonial city, Carmen is a red hot spark. She sings her siren song, and suddenly, Don José’s world is alight with a volatile fire. This vibrant production features glamorous girls and bullfighting boys in eye-popping colours. There are smugglers in suits, parades and punches, lust and loathing aplenty. Irresistible Spanish tunes include the famous Toreador Song and flirty Habanera. Underneath those infectious rhythms, the dark undercurrent of fate pulses. Carmen knows she is dancing with death. John Bell’s production is a bold look at the intense relationships at the heart of this opera. It hones in on the wild love that promises freedom, while binding the lovers in an unbreakable web of fate.
Why: Carmen. The Beatles’ canon of the opera genre. You won’t get any kudos for having seen it, but you will be judged for not having seen it.
https://on.com.au/search/search?parentId=0604f470-3001-11ea-bd3a-87e544f47372
6) La Bohème
21st-30th January
What: You can’t go past this dazzling story of friendship and first love in La Bohème. A poet, a painter, a musician and a philosopher walk into a bar to celebrate a sudden windfall in a lean winter. It’s Christmas Eve, and the poet has just felt the first pangs of great love. When a seamstress knocks on his door searching for candlelight, the pair fall in love faster than she can sing “Yes, they call me Mimì…” Between the ideals of love and art and the cruel realities of cold winters, bitter jealousies and empty pockets, two sets of lovers are trying to find their way. By the time the curtain falls, you’ll know the answer to an eternal question: Is love enough?
Why: We’ve seen the production at the Opera House, so we can answer that question for you: no. Clearly, love isn’t enough. Not when a single bloody Cornetto costs $10.
https://on.com.au/search/search?parentId=e572e710-2d14-11ea-bd3a-87e544f47372
5) MACHINE (Screening)
21st January
What: What will happen when we’re no longer the smartest ones on the planet? And who, if anyone, is controlling the rise of this new technology? MACHINE talks to world-renowned experts, the people who are creating, researching and controlling this new technology. Story chapters address many of the key issues at stake – AI companions, the dilemma of driverless cars, autonomous warfare, using AI to create human super-intelligence and the very real possibility of a Robot Apocalypse. Optimistic, thought-provoking and awe-inspiring, MACHINE looks not only at the practical applications of AI, but also the ethical questions raised by these new developments.
Why: We’re not sure why humans so fear the robot apocalypse. We’re living on a burnt crisp breathing in a miasma of toxins and the most popular form of music already consists of the sounds of a machine getting aggressively fingered. At least when the robots finally declare they’re going to take over the planet, we’ll know when to schedule the mass pre-extermination orgy. It’s the waiting we can’t stand.
https://on.com.au/search/events/MACHINE-(Screening)/88b77b60-38ba-11ea-96b7-b132cf2a7536
4) Beer AND Cheese
25th January
What: Enjoy a cheeky beer (or 6) as you explore the vast and complex world of flavour pairings. In this 90 minute class allow Steph Chiasson to guide you on a continent-jumping journey. You will focus on some local craft beer as well as some international beauties, and likewise for cheeses. Beer lovers, prepare to have your minds blown and your palates opened up as beer finds its perfect match in the unexpected world of dairy.
Why: Alcohol-based diarrhoea versus cheese-based constipation. Which one will win? Taking all bets.
https://on.com.au/search/events/Beer-AND-Cheese/a71ca900-38b9-11ea-96b7-b132cf2a7536
3) Summerama: Fun Day Out
19th January
What: Looking for some summer magic? Bring your friends and family and for a fun day of free activities and live music! Featuring a celebration of Aboriginal culture with a smoking ceremony, a beach clean-up and clothes swap event, the Taronga Zoomobile, an entertaining quiz run by a local comedian, colourful street performances, arts and crafts, plastic free stalls, a touch tank full of marine wildlife, a sustainable seafood stall, a mobile library and so much more!
Why: With so much colourful child-luring distraction in one day, it’s not purposeful abandonment of your children, it’s just an awful, awful, financially beneficial, cold case.
https://on.com.au/search/events/Summerama:-Fun-Day-Out/01c87100-38b9-11ea-96b7-b132cf2a7536
2) Lunar Block Party: Bushfire Fundraising Jam
25th January
What: This block party will transform the area under Pier St. bridge into an exciting dance floor celebrating both the Lunar New Year and the hip hop and street dance culture in a family friendly event. Anyone and everyone is encouraged to attend and get down as DJs spin all Saturday afternoon into the night. So prepare your dancing shoes, learn some new moves and grooves, and get ready for a full day of dance and performances. All proceeds from this event will be donated to the NSW Rural Fire Service.
Why: The homeless people shoved out of the storm-safe area for this event will just have to wait until a sudden Instagram-worthy catastrophe solvable by a dance-off spotlights them.
1) Poirot and More: A Retrospective
23rd January
What: Join a conversation with the man, the actor and his many roles in an unmistakably unique event. A retrospective look at David’s career will have you witness some of his most beloved performances in a new and intimate light. For over 25 years he captivated millions worldwide as Agatha Christie’s elegant Belgian detective. Beyond Poirot, this Emmy and Olivier award-winning actor has been celebrated for his portrayal of iconic roles such as Lady Bracknell, Cardinal Benelli and Freud. David has also graced the world’s stages bringing literary greats to life, including Shakespeare, Wilde and Albee. Meet the actor behind the detective and the many faces he’s portrayed on stage and screen over a career spanning five decades. Discover why David Suchet is renowned for not only becoming the role but also taking on the personalities of some of television, film and theatre’s most fascinating characters.
Why: Give profound thanks to the man who best brought to life one of the few brilliant detectives that has not, as of yet, appeared in a shrill 12-year-old’s erotic fan art.
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