A Midnight Visit

Sydney, Australia

October 3, 2018

Immersive theatre is a genre for itself. Forget sitting in seat and merely losing yourself in the world it presents by engaging the imagination.

Then again it does neither imply that interaction and participation is an integral component or that the site needs to be specific.

However, all of the aforementioned tends to play a part and add to the total that, if it is done well, becomes much more than the sum of the individual parts.

Enter the triumvirate that forms the team of creatives behind A Midnight Visit, i.e. Kirsten Siddle, Danielle Harvey and Simon Hayward. What they have accomplished is the creation of a world that simulate all five senses, and by meticulously paying attention to details, create scenarios that do not only serve as a backdrop but also as a hands-on museum and art installation: Worlds within worlds than can be explored by audience member as they follow the implicit directive to touch, playfully interact, encounter with the performers and solve puzzles, which makes each facet uniquely personal depending on the route you decide to take.

Summa summarum – the audience is being taken on a journey, which is framed by a story that is based on the foundation of the stimulating oeuvre of Edgar Allan Poe. What makes the production of A Midnight Visit outstanding is that it not merely draws on the prevalent themes that pervade Poe’s lyrical emissions, e.g. culpability, afterlife, (sub-)consciousness, anxiety, hysteria and delusions, but manages to not only allude to and refer to his works but creates a coherent whole out of seemingly disparate pieces and a red thread is spun without forcefully enforcing it.

Employing performers, video projections, installations, sets and soundscapes in a two story abandoned warehouse, the collaboration between Broad Encounters and Groundswell Productions results in an evening that does not bank on previous knowledge of Poe’s work as the production can be enjoyed for what it is face value, but it certainly adds to the experience and it is interesting to see their idiosyncratic take on the characters.

Not unlike Edgar Allan Poe, A Midnight Visit evokes profound feelings yet allows you ample space and opportunity to fill in the blanks – it provides a canvas upon which you project your reactions and fears.

The orchestration of the event is well-paced and the fact that the excitement of sharing a space and become part of the immersive extravaganza does not wear off throughout the experience, is testament to the success of A Midnight Visit – a visit that culminates in the Raven’s Nest, a customized pop-up bar that extends the experience with themed drinks and a well-curated ambience before visitors are unleashed into the night.

A Midnight Visit is something you want you would want to immerse yourself in before the residency ends in December.

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Photo provided

Plants with Bite

Royal Botanic Garden Sydney

September 27, 2018

We have had a chance to get an exclusive preview of The Calyx, the inner sanctum in Sydney’s Royal Botanical Gardens being transformed by Venus flytraps, Sarracenians as well as many other fascinating carnivorous plant species for the new exhibition Plants with Bite.

Plants with Bite marks the fourth display at The Calyx, following Sweet Addictions, All About Flowers and Pollination.

The tenet of exhibitions at The Calyx is to both inspire and educate the general public as well as the next generation of scientists and horticulturists via the display of plants that are important and worth talking about.

Carefully curated by the scientists at the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney under the benign guidance of the Garden’s Director of Horticulture, Jimmy Turner, the carnivorous plants have been catalogued and identified in a bid to preserve them for future generations.

With the abilities to thrive in the most adverse conditions by luring and devouring insects, this exhibition is a coup and a feast for all senses. The exhibition is staged in an engaging manner that tells the story of the bizarre world of these plants, which illustrate the wonders of evolution.

Apart from the display comprised of over 25,000 plants, the tantalizing extravaganza is enriched with hands-on activities, interactive workshops, and an augmented reality application that can be downloaded to appeal to every eager learner’s style.

The free exhibition is framed by retro Movie Poster Exhibition along with an Attack of the Killer Tomatoes Movie Night, which is quite fitting given the nature of the devious specimen on display.

Plants with Bite is nothing less than an astounding and eye opening exercise in horticulture – featuring the most extensive vertical interior display in this part of our earthround it challenges preconceptions about the fauna and floral food chain.

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Photos by @k.a.vv

1-2-3-4

Anton Corbijn

Prestel Publishing

It is not exactly the best-kept secret that I harbor a weak spot for Depeche Mode, a band that has accompanied me ever since I started listening to music. Now, Depeche Mode is an example par excellence for a band where the total is much greater than the sum of the individual components, as the individual solo careers and the protagonist’s own outputs attest to. Yet it does not merely come down to the band members as without one Anton Corbjn, who has been the man behind pretty much all of Depeche Mode’s visual emissions – be it videos, photos, stage sets or artwork – the image of Depeche Mode and the way they are being perceived would be dramatically diminished.

1-2-3-4 is a comprehensive collection of the photographic oeuvre of Anton Corbijn. It shows the craft and art of a photographer and director that has left his idiosyncratic imprint, elevated careers and given a deeper dimension of everyone who has been fortunate enough to work with him.

Opulently illustrated, this tome of my favourite among the many great releases of Prestel Publishing house with hundreds of known, candid, behind-the-scenes and unknown depictions of everyone one from Nick Cave to Metallica, David Bowie to Nirvana, Lou Reed via U2 to R.E.M., the Rolling Stones to Siouxie and the Banshees.

The book appropriately portrays why luminaries and artists let him have AAA access to their worlds

A profoundly beautiful book showcasing punk, grunge, pop and rock 'n roll legends that should not only be an essential part of any music lover’s library as it is not only a feast for the eyes – it transports you where the artist is at – but also anyone remotely into photography.

What’s Sumatra with You?

Killer Coffee and Sip4Sip

The fact that I love coffee is not exactly a well-guarded secret.

A passion I shared with a mob of good people I have recently come across.

A local favourite that shall soon hit the new world is Killer Coffee Co.

Industrial strength goodness and the strongest Australian brew at that, based on a solid foundation of three hand-selected Arabica beans brimming with exceptional flavour and with each bean variety carefully roasted to bring out its maximum flavour.

Six times stronger than regular coffee it is a veritable kick in the ass, containing 172 mg of caffeine per 100ml – a strong cuppa without the bitterness one would usually expect to come with such a heavyweight.

Change of pace?

Aight, Sip4Sip is all over whatever variant of coffee you are into.

Not unlike your narrator, starting the journey with the smell, Sip4Sip is all about the journey from bean to nectar and they made it their mission to honour the craft that takes a simple bean and turns it into an art form along with the passion, the science, and the vision that goes into roasting to get a unique blend that its creator can call its own.

So far, so good. Now, what makes Sip4Sip an entity worth your support is that they take it a few steps further than merely having perfectioned the art of taking beans and turning them into black gold: They want to make a difference by making a real and sustainable impact in this world of ours and giving back.

In partnership with the people at Buy1Give1 they have created a Sip4Sip program, starting with the essence of life, i.e. water. What most of us take for granted is for millions of people a commodity that is hard to come by.

The idea is as simple as it is effective and embedded in their name Sip4Sip: For every sip of coffee they sell; they will provide a sip of water to someone in need, which roughly comes down to one week of coffee beans translating to one month of clean, lifesaving water for someone who has none.

Cool beans indeed.

How to get involved?

Easy!

You decide if you want to try them once or subscribe, choose single flavours and mixed packs of their carefully curated boutique roasters, which roast the beans freshly for you and off you go. Sip4Sip dispatch their orders twice a month and every bag of coffee is a week of water supply for people in need in Ethiopia and Malawi, saving lives every time.

My first exposure to Sip4Sip resulted in procuring a pack of Ground Control Coffee, which was incepted in a café in Ballina, where they started roasting coffee and eventually started to wholesale beans. In 2015, the opportunity came to consolidate what they were doing, so they moved into their current premises and began purchasing better beans and training up some gun baristas to showcase their product. 

Their Major Tom variant is an example par excellence for a carefully calibrated melange of liquorice and rosemary aroma, packing a healthy acid punch with an earthy note running through the fruit and nut dark chocolate taste.

Read previous insallments of What’s Sumatra with You?.

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Photos by T

Water of Life

Buffalo Trace Distillery: Neat – screening and tasting

Golden Age Cinema and Bar

Sydney, Australia

September 24, 2018

We have covered quite a few whiskey-centric events within the confines of the Water of Life series, yet every now and then there is one that stands out. Whiskey Hunt Australia the screening of David Altrogge’s NEAT: The Story of Bourbon, a feature length documentary that dives into the rich and storied world of bourbon.

After being proffered an excellently mixed cocktail on arrival in the Golden Age Cinema Bar, we were ushered into what previously was used as an intimate, private screening room for Paramount Pictures.

NEAT: The Story of Bourbon is in essence a classy, crafted and thoroughly engaging story about not only bourbon, but the people behind the liquid emissions, specifically characters like Castle and Key Master Distiller Marianne Barnes and third generation Buffalo Trace employee Freddie Johnson.

Following the chronological timeline of America’s native spirit, from the distillation of whiskey by early pioneers to the current thriving bourbon environment, distillers from the major American bourbon distilleries move the history along, preaching their love of the spirit along the way, only interjected by actor Steve Zahn’s quips, presenting educational Bourbon fun facts. 

Not that much cinematographic animation was needed to get your humble narrator into the mood for a Bourbon tasting, but the beautifully shot documentary certainly set the tone for the classy evening that was to ensue and enhanced the appreciation for the history and process of Bourbon making.

What followed was a Buffalo Trace Distillery masterclass, MC’ed by whisky-phile par excellence Gee David from Southtrade, who took us through some of the Bourbon’s discussed that were discussed in the film, which served as a seamless extension.

Proceedings were kicked off with an interesting taste of Buffalo Trace White Dog, with the name being a telling one as it was given to a whiskey of the unaged variant. What normally would prove to be a great cocktail ingredient, set the foundation of the expressions that were to follow.

Buffalo Trace itself is a reliable bourbon but things were taken up a few notches with Blantons Gold. Delicioso: A refined Bourbon with predominant vanilla, dried fruits, raisings and citrus notes rounded out with a bit of peppery spice and a full bodied nose.

Named after the maverick who gave birth to Buffalo Trace Distillery’s single barrel offerings, i.e. Elmer T Lee, the next expression was a rich and perfectly balanced exercise in what a great Bourbon should taste like. A thing of beauty.

E.H. Taylor Single Barrel was next – a fulminant melange of spicy notes based on a bed of oak, leaving an aftertaste of plums, fruits and hints of figs after hitting the palate with its buttery texture. The fact that its long finish is veiled in smokiness only adds to the flavour. Dangerously more-ish.

The highlight of the evening was a dram of the incredible Pappy Van Winkle‘s 20 year old. As the tasting was accompanied by cheese and charcuterie boards, the sweetness of the Pappy van Winkle made it a perfect digestif.

Nuts, spices, white chocolate and stewed fruits are only a few of the many nuances that serenade this rich and soft bourbon as it caresses once palate with its silky, borderline Cognac-ey sublime oak and custard flavours. It leaves one with a crescendo of honey, prune and pepper . . . and lusting for more.

Buffalo Trace Bourbon Cream set a counterpoint to the previous drams, with its cholocate-y, vanilla-ey character that culminated with a kick of cinnamon.

An evening that was a masterfully executed ode to everything Bourbon, tackling all senses in equal measures.

Read more Water of Life entries here.

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Neat graphic courtesy of Whiskey Hunt Australia, event photo by T