Ship ahoy: Titanic – The Artefacts Exhibition

Tuesday 20 July 2010, 12:16 PM
By The Team | Posted in Events

The story of the doomed RMS Titanic has fascinated people for generations, the fodder for countless of books and documentaries, a Hollywood film, musical and even a Melbourne theatre restaurant where you can (almost) relive the experience.

Now Titanic: the artefact exhibition has sailed into town, bringing with it many of the objects salvaged from the Titanic wreck.

On entering the exhibition, you are given a boarding pass with the identity of one of the Titanic passengers, providing an extra element of interest as you discover what their life was like on the ship - and their eventual fate.

By putting yourself in a passenger’s shoes, it is easier to understand the enormity of this disaster - and the individual stories that make this event loom so large in our world’s history.

A steward’s jacket and an engine worker’s old boot both serve as poignant reminders of the 1523 lives that were lost. A replica iceberg provides a hands-on experience of what it might be like to find yourself cast into an ocean where the temperature was minus two degrees Celsius.

The sheer grandeur of the ship is replicated throughout the exhibition with an example of a luxury first class cabin, a replica of the ship’s opulent grand staircase and a dinner menu showing that roast duckling and chateau potatoes were on offer on one night.

But the most touching moment of the exhibition is reading  the words from the passengers themselves, such as Ida Staus, who refused the safety of the lifeboat to be with her husband: ‘We have lived together for many years.  Where you go, I go‘. Or this from Benjamin Guggeimheim: ‘We are dressed in our best and prepared to go down like gentleman.’

The Titanic: the artefact exhibition is showing at the Melbourne Museum until 17 October. Tickets are $24 adult, $16 child, $18 concession and $66 family. Tickets also includes entry to the Melbourne Museum.

Win Titanic tickets

Why not try and win a double pass with thats melbourne. Enter our competition by telling us (in the comments below) how you would try to survive a shipwreck. 

Entries close Friday 23 July at 11am - and we’ll draw the winner that same day. Make sure you provide a valid email address so we can contact you if you win.

LINK
Titanic: the artefact exhibition

Review: Australian Ballet Centre Tour

Friday 9 July 2010, 5:12 PM
By The Team | Posted in Places

When I was young I dreamt of being a ballerina. Every Tuesday night Mum would take me to the local church hall for lessons where a stern woman barked her orders over tape recordings of tinkly piano. Twenty years on and I find myself standing at the doors of The Australian Ballet Centre. No, I’m not a ballerina. But a guided tour is as close I’m going to get.

Our first guide is Wardrobe Production Manager Michael Williams, who leads us to the famed Production Division Wardrobe Department. In moments we are surrounded by a wonderland of tulle, ribbon, fabric and buttons. Our eyes go to the racks of costumes lining the walls.

He’s a crowd-pleaser, Michael. A collective sigh escapes from the group as he pulls out The Sugar Plum Fairy costume from The Nutcracker and others from Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty and the more recent Coppélia. With knowledge only 34 years at The Australia Ballet can provide, Michael explains the process of costume creation from material selection, to specific stitches and boning techniques, and appliqué and sequin designs that pay homage to their decades-old samples.

The extent to which The Australian Ballet creates costumes for their dancers from scratch is astonishing. Staff work away surrounded by sewing machines, tools, hanging patterns and mannequins. In a kitchen-turned-science lab, fabric and ballet shoes (literally thousands) are dyed and treated in huge pots, cookers and washing machines.

Our next guide is Frank Leo, The Australian Ballet’s artistic administrator and a former dancer.  As Frank describes the gruelling schedule of the ballerinas, we peer through doorways to watch lithe bodies move in fluid perfection across the large light-filled studios. And they’re dancing to tinkly piano music. But the Australian Ballet doesn’t dance to wonky tapes like I did. They have a real pianist. Seated behind a baby-grand.

Finally, we peek inside a small dark room smelling of rich leather. It’s the smell of hundreds of hand-crafted, made-to-measure pointe shoes. Each dancer will wear out around three pairs per performance, so plenty are always kept in stock.

My own dancing ambitions ended with the distinct lack of coordination that comes with being a tall teenager, but the obsession of the ballet is lodged firmly in my heart. For those who have ever criss-crossed ribbons around their ankles, dragged their hair into an eyebrow-lifting bun or forced their parents through years of ballet recitals (sorry Dad), this tour is for you.

Australian Ballet Centre Tours run most Tuesdays and Thursdays until the end of September. Tours run for an hour and depart at 10.30am. Cost is $15 for adults and $8 for children under 17 years of age. Bookings are essential as places are limited.

Review: Barbagallo di Trattoria

Friday 9 April 2010, 5:38 PM
By The Team | Posted in Places

Mention the name I Carusi, well-known for its soulful, rustic pizzas, and eyes will no doubt light up with delight. Barbagallo di Trattoria is definitely I Carusi’s grown up sister: classic, refined and molto italiano.

Located in the east end of Lonsdale Street, Barbargallo is far removed from the cheeky chic of his other establishments. The white walls, cosy down-lighting and well-placed collection of café-style tables make the most of the narrow space.

Pietro, who gained his pizza-making skills from generations of family knowledge, is now focused on his latest passion for making pasta. The dishes are simple with just one or two quality ingredients, allowing you to appreciate the workmanship in creating this delicate yet firm pasta. The linguine, coated with a simple tomato sauce is adorned with large prawns and long strips of zucchini emulating this sleek and narrow pasta.

Pizzas are still central to the menu however; try the oriental funghi pizza with succulent slices of enoki, shitake and oyster mushrooms accompanied with the bitey flavours of asiago cheese.

Time-poor city workers can choose from bruschetta, panini and schiacciata (like a calzone or empanada) with a range of traditional Italian fillings. A solid wine list reveals a large selection of Italian varietal wines, as well as wines from Victoria and France.

Barbagallo is also open for breakfast with good coffee and a small selection of pastries which you can eat ltalian-style, standing at the bar on your way to work.

VITAL STATS:
Take: Some Italian literature, whether its Machiavelli or Dante there’s plenty of spots for solo diners.
Entrees: $9.50-$15
Mains: $9.50-$32
Desserts: $7–$12
Wine: A solid wine list reveals a large selection of Italian varietal wines, as well as wines from Victoria and France.