Italian Cafe Cool. New York Style.

Just when you thought Little Italy had moved out of Leichhardt, Dom Panino, came to town.  Dom Panino is all about the sandwich, Italian style, of course. It’s classy, contemporary and family owned. In fact the Ruggeri husband and wife team run the kitchen themselves. They cook fresh pasta too. Their son, Domenico, runs the restaurant area which includes the tables outside, the front food bar and the family room at the back, where people gather to socialise in groups, or sit on their own, soaking up the atmosphere.Dom’s nona is a regular visitor to the family room too apparently. In fact there are photos of the whole family, including nona Ruggeri, adorning the walls, going right back to when she and Dom’s grandfather, moved to Leichhardt from Sicily. You can almost feel the love coming through the frames when you look at them. 

We can talk about the wonderful food, already covered by articles in the Sydney Morning Herald and other popular papers, or we can concentrate on the service, which in my opinion is excellent.  But don’t just take my opinion, there are people lining up for a whole block, waiting to get in of a weekend because they know, they will be rewarded with a friendly smile and a dedication to making them feel welcome. They will also be serenaded with Frank Sinatra and freshly made doughnuts. If you’ve ever been to New York, you’ll know that, a great mocha, latte or cappuccino served with sizzling hot doughnuts and the sound of Frank Sinatra crooning in the background makes for a pretty cool dining experience.

None of this came about by accident. Dom Ruggeri and his family have paid great attention to marketing and have planned everything down to the last detail, in order to deliver that wonderful, lively, old style Italian family cafe with a modern twist. When yours truly remarked on the fact that one side of their cafe awning was back to front, Dom grinned and replied, ,,,,” It got your attention, didn’t it.”  They have certainly researched their paninos. I had, The Serafina, and can highly recommend it. Delicious vegan sandy with eggplant and tomato and lots of other veggies. Just the right amount of olive oil and we have a winner. Served by Tony Benvenutto, Hmmm? Maybe a pun. Me thinks he’s a funny guy. Great waiter though. Full of charm, wit and enthusiasm. Sorely needed in this mixed up world.

I’ve also tried their sugar coated, custard filled Italian pastries and their cannoli, a staple of any true Italian Cafe.

Sitting on a bar stool inside the cafe is a man in a suit. Look closely and you’ll see him checking out his phone. He has a view of boxed hedges, traffic lights, a skin clinic and a petrol station opposite. Now imagine that’s Frank Sinatra drinking his coffee and just being cool. Not hard is it? Just like some film noir hangout even Frank would would approve of.

By Renee Lou Dallow

Bourgeoise Reviews And Banter.

A Film written and directed by Alex Lykos

Disconnect Me, is a film that actually connects, even though it is about disconnection. Disconnecting from one’s mobile phone does not mean disconnecting from people or from life in general. Alex Lykos is a filmmaker who connects with or without his mobile phone . The premise of this film is our total addiction to mobile phones, social media and communicating through text.  ‘We Don’t Talk Anymore’, the title of a song by Cliff Richard way back in 1979, sums it up perfectly. How many of us prefer to text rather than talk? Well just about everyone it would seem. There’s nothing more annoying than getting ready to go out and meet a friend than having that friend text you ten times to tell you, they just got out of the shower, just got into the car, they’re on the way, they’ve reached your area, they’re just around the corner, they’re trying to find a  carpark, they’re walking down the street, they’re just opening the door to the cinema, restaurant or whatever, they’re inside, they’re sitting down, they can’t see you. By this time you are an anxiety ridden, out of control mental case and certainly not in the mood to to hang out. They can’t see you? WHATEVER! You’ve gone. 

The level of anxiety the other person feels if they are unable to text is also way out of order and this is what Lykos is getting at when he decides on a thirty day experiment without his mobile phone. He’s dedicated, he’s driven, he’s determined to see this through. He gives his phone to his wife, who locks it away in a safe, buys himself an old-fashioned landline, gets an alarm clock and uses a Gregory’s for directions, thereby, locking out poor Siri and doing away with Google Maps. He decides to film his drastic mobile phone diet, hires a film crew, sets up storylines and locations along with interviewing a variety of people of different ages and from different walks of life and takes us all on the journey with him. It’s not long before he realises that it’s impossible to disconnect alone. Everyone else is connected via mobile. How can he pay the crew? He banks online and so do they. How can he keep up with the medical problems which beset his ageing dad, whose problems, need immediate attention? His father too is dependent on his son having a mobile phone and his response to his son’s experiment is one of complete frustration with hilarious results.

Then there are the interviews with teens and even primary kids on why they can’t do without their mobile phones. One mother finds out her teen is up till 2.30 in the morning watching Netflix. Before the interview she had no idea this was happening. How many other mums are in the same boat? The interviews conducted reveal that there are many. All across the nation. Kids don’t see anything wrong with it though as many are taught that it is ok to spend hours on their phones, playing video games or watching movies. It keeps them occupied. Lets the parents have some, ‘Me Time.’

What of the teens who depend on likes and comments from others on their socials? Their whole lives can depend on these little approvals. They see themselves as being defined by what social media thinks of what they do and say as well as how they look, feel and act. What are they without Facebook, Instagram, Twitter e.t.c.? They are nothing. Lykos gently prods these screen dependent teens and is quite pleasantly surprised when some, well at least two, say they would prefer not to be so addicted and could maybe get used to playing sports in the park or going to the beach with friends rather than spending all their time in darkened rooms mesmerised by the flickering lights of their screens.

Alex Lykos has done an outstanding job on bringing the plight of the mobile phone addict out into the open.

He has juxtaposed natural settings, with the rustling of trees, the sound of birds and the glow of an evening sunset with the frantic pace of a world controlled by Artificial Intelligence. He asks if all the scientific progress we have made is worth it and looks at some of the sacrifices we have had to make along the way. He has achieved this with humour, empathy and all the curiosity of a seasoned journalist. Lykos’ documentary film is extremely clever and timely. Well deserving of the accolades it achieved at its Enmore Theatre premiere.

By Renee Lou Dallow 

Bourgeoise Bloomers Reviews And Banter 

Bourgeoise Reviews And Banter

A broodingly brilliant play about the talented Bronte sisters who’s lives were cut short. There were five sisters initially, two of whom, died of malnutrition at boarding school. The other three managed to write some of the greatest literature of the times in which they lived. Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre and Tenant Of Windfell Hall, are just three of the eight books they managed to publish. Each published under male pseudonyms as women were not considered legitimate writers in a world where their place was in the home and not outside it. They and their brother Branwell, lived in Yorkshire with their preacher father in a modest house, Haworth. Fueling their imaginations with characters and storylines, plotting their way into realms beyond the drudgeries of everyday life, they left a legacy , which to this very day, inspires writers and students alike.

The play written by Polly Teale is a testament to the lives lived within the walls of Haworth parsonage, the lonely isolated house, in which the Brontes lived. The characters of Charlotte, Anne, and Emily Bronte are brought to life, shedding their fears for themselves, and for each other, along with their joys and aspirations for the future. Their brother, Branwell, can come and go as he pleases but the three sisters are, for the most part stuck on the moors. As we are are transported into their consecutive writing worlds, the characters they create, are unleashed. We recognise the austere Curate as Charlotte Bronte’s Rochester from Jane Eyre, and Mrs Linton’s mournful wandering ghost, as Cathy from Wuthering Heights, by Charlotte’s her sister ,Emily. Throughout the play the characters are intent on storytelling and on goading each other to create more and more content.

The production of Bronte at The Genesian, directed by Barry Nielson, is a very compact, well paced and evocative offering. While the set was simple and reflected the bare essentials of the Bronte home, the lighting and sound, could have added more to the mood. There are many freezes which are almost like viewing a painting in an art gallery, juxtaposed with scenes of great energy and dexterity, especially in scenes with Branwell played by Theo Rule . Emily’s frantic writing pace and dark mood play off the relative calm of Charlotte’s, ( Aneeka Brownsberger ), temperance. Anne ( Rebecca Harris ) is more of a soft breeze floating through. The actors are all well chosen for their roles, though there is a tendency from Emilia Stubbs Grigoriou, to overplay Emilly’s melancholic tendencies. Theo Hatzistergos , in all the characters he plays, particularly as Nicholls, Charlottes husband, is outstanding. Georgia Jarrett as Cathy, has just the right amount of light and shade in her performance along with a lovely ethereal quality. Gregory George as their preacher father is also convincing.

By Renee Lou Dallow

Bronte is on at The Genesian Theatre Kent Street Sydney from the 1st to 22nd of July

Fridays and Saturdays 7.30 and Sundays 4.30.

Baskerville Does Vaudeville

It was my privilege to attend the opening night of The Hound Of The Baskervilles at The Genesian Theatre Kent Street Sydney. Having seen the film and knowing how very famous the story is, I wondered how on earth it could be staged in such a small intimate theatre. Who knew a Sherlock Holmes caper could be so funny.? The whole production was carried by three very talented actors portraying a great variety of characters with often hilarious results. It was fast paced, clever and utterly remorseless in the delivery of corny one liners from the very beginning. Definitely worthy of the Vaudeville stage.

The play begins with a brooding Sherlock played by the the great star, Alyona Popova, who, as you’ve probably guessed is not really British. Still she does a brilliant job of portraying the Baker Street sleuth right down to the incessant use of a monocle. Good sleuthing, what? Wonderful to have a woman play Holmes. How positively progressive! Enter Watson, ( Kate Easlea ), and guess what? She’s female too! On stage there are only rudimentary props including Holme’s red velvet chair and a coat rack. There is also a big black door, quite obviously, not attached to a wall. On the other side of this door there is someone knocking. Enter Oliver Harcourt Ham as Sir Henry Baskerville, heir to the Baskerville Estate in that eeriest of eery places, Dartmoor.

What ensues is mime, slapstick and mayhem, as these extremely versatile young actors break the fourth wall and let the audience in on the act. As Sherlock and Watson accompany Sir Henry to Dartmoor, the hound can be heard, snarling in the distance. Watson immediately takes out a pistol and shoots into the air at anything that moves,. Cows, sheep, birds and whatever else he comes across. All done with sound effects and dim lighting against a sky full of stars. There is a mysterious staircase too, which characters climb, and disappear behind. We meet strange characters who appear in little vignettes. The Barrymores, a butler with a leaning candle, and a housekeeper with sass, as well as the Stapletons, a brother and sister with some truly weird quirks. There is a fog, a bog and a hog in a bag. All of which Mr Harcourt Ham explains ,in person, in his unique acrobatic style..

In act two we find that someone in the audience has dared to question the way Holmes is running the case, so, we get an action replay of the whole first act in fast motion. More clever banter and carefully thought out deductions follow, with Watson asking, ‘Is it all really just smoke and mirrors?’ ‘ Well it would seem so in this case. But to let you in on the secrets of the case and how it is resolved would be to give the game away and we all know the game is afoot. Sorry. Couldn’t resist that one.

Such an original production. Equal kudos to all involved. Brilliantly directed by Richard Cotter with minimal set and props relying on the skills of the performers and the lighting and sound effects. A real surprise and a welcome one.

Renee Lou Dallow ( Bourgeoise Bloomers )