The art of summer – how some of Sydney’s cultural movers and shakers are enjoying their break
SOURCE:Sydney Morning Herald|BY:Linda Morris, Robert Moran, Nick Galvin, Louise Rugendyke, Chris Hook
Whether grilling politicians on prime time, building sets for an opera spectacular, rehearsing or performing, our creative types need time out. Here’s how they do it.
Sydneysiders are easing into the summer holidays – and enjoying some leisure at last. As part of our Summer Series, we asked a number of famous folk from across the world of arts, culture and entertainment to find out how they like to spend their long, hot summer holidays.
Ryan Corr, actor
What I’m reading: I’m reading ART by Yasmin Reza, of course! And I am re-reading A Death in the Family by Karl Ove Knausgård at the same time.
Ryan Corr is having a busy summer as he prepares for ART, but is still finding time to relax. Credit: Dylan Coker
What I’m watching: I’ve been watching a lot of National Theatre Live.
What I’m listening to: I’m listening to Superfly by Curtis Mayfield and having a ’90s grunge moment too.
Where my summer bolthole/weekend escape is: Quiet beach spots around Sydney where I live, or Cape Patterson by the beach when I’m in Victoria. I also love camping, anywhere near a river with my rooftop tent.
Where I’m eating and drinking: A great hotpot in Melbourne recently, seafood at Bondi Icebergs [Club], and lots of meals at home with family and friends. I cooked a porchetta for Christmas.
[I am drinking] mostly in the backyard with family and friends over the holidays. I toasted the New Year, but I’m doing a couple of booze-free months now.
What I’m reading: Currently two books – Good Morning Monster by psychologist Catherine Gildiner has compelling and sometimes harrowing depictions of five “heroes” she has worked with, and Essays by Lydia Davies — my companion as I begin work on my second book.
What I’m watching: The latest season of Stranger Things as well as the 2018 Palm d’Or winning film Shoplifters – a tender and beautifully human portrayal of a family of shoplifters in Tokyo.
What I’m listening to: Listening to Daniel Caesar’s latest album Son of Spergy — a serene, intricate portrait of father and son— as well as Rosalia’s sublime Lux (the whole album gives me tingles in the best way possible).
Loribelle Spirovski enjoys a secluded outdoor niche at Yellamundie.Credit: Sitthixay Ditthavong
Where my summer bolthole/weekend escape is: I’m finding some nice moments of solitude at the new library Yellamundie in Liverpool. My favourite spot is a secluded outdoor niche shaded by trees, where you can’t hear the traffic outside, and where I can while away an hour or two, with some cryptic crosswords and a thermos of milky tea.
Where I’m eating and drinking: Recently went to Ursula’s in Paddington and had one of the best pastas of my life - the Moreton bay bug pasta is out of this world!
Sarah Ferguson, anchor, ABC 7.30
What I’m reading:The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai and Family Lexicon by Natalia Ginzburg – the latter a gift from a friend while we were in marvellous Daunt Books in London.
ABC 7.30 host Sarah Ferguson.Credit: Dominic Lorrimer
What I’m watching: I need to watch some eps of Gardening Australia to help my fight against animals stripping the garden. And our latest documentary Sentient is selected for the Sundance film festival so Tony [Jones] and I and our colleague Ivan O’Mahoney will be watching that.
What I’m listening to: The Ashes!
Where my summer bolthole/weekend escape is: NSW South Coast – empty beaches, rocks and big sky.
Where I’m eating and drinking: South Coast: Oyster Farmers Daughter, Quarter Deck and a treat trip to The Agrarian Kitchen in Tasmania.
Mitchell Butel, actor and Sydney Theatre Company (STC) artistic director
STC artistic director and actor Mitchell Butel. Credit: Flavio Brancaleone
What I’m reading: I’ve got a few biographies on the go: Daniel Pollack-Pelzner’s look at Hamilton composer Lin-Manuel Miranda in The Education of an Artist, producer Jeffrey Sellers’s memoir Theatre Kid and a second read of actor Griffin Dunne’s The Friday Afternoon Club because I enjoyed the first read so much. And a stack of great new Australian plays that might end up in an STC season soon!
What I’m watching: I’m behind with everything TV-wise but have been loving English Teacher which is so awkward and funny. Morning Wars is another guilty pleasure. I’m looking forward to seeing a bunch of Sydney Festival shows at our STC venues over January, especially LACRIMA from Theatre National de Strasbourg about the making of a wedding dress being made over four countries. I’ll be dropping into rehearsals for STC’s’s first show of 2026, PURPOSE, as much as possible too. It’s a corker play. Dark, hilarious and shocking.
What I’m listening to: A whole lot of John Farnham. We are in the final stages of casting WHISPERING JACK: The John Farnham Musical, which makes its world premiere at STC in November, so my mind is happily full with this legend’s amazing tunes and voice.
Where my summer bolthole/weekend escape is: A dip in the water reboots my system - whether it’s Coogee’s Wylie’s Baths or Nielson Park or Marrinawi Cove at Barangaroo, just a short walk from STC’s home at the Wharf.
Where I’m eating and drinking? The globe artichoke and almond salad at The Wharf Restaurant and Bar and a white negroni fizz at Folio, the sexy new bar at the Rosyln Packer Theatre.
What I’m reading: I always have a few books on rotation and right now I’m re-reading The Well of Light by RJ Stewart, Astrology for the Soul by Jan Spiller and listening to The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns and Faeries by Robert Kirk on Audible.
What I’m watching: My garden grow.
What I’m listening to: Celtic harps.
Where my summer bolthole/weekend escape is: Local suburban bushland reserves and the Blue Mountain waterfalls.
Where I’m eating and drinking: Getting dragged out of Websters [Rooftop and Bar] and eating at Golden Lotus in Newtown.
Peach PRC’s new album Porcelain is out on March 20, 2026. She will also be touring. Details: peachprc.com
Ione Sky, actor and podcaster
What I’m reading:All About ‘All About Eve’: The Complete Behind the Scenes Story of the Bitchiest Film Ever Made by Sam Staggs.
Ben Lee and Ione Sky host a podcast together.
What I’m watching:The Chair Company.
What I’m listening to: Ninajirachi.
Where my summer bolthole/weekend escape is: Redhead Beach – our friends moved up there recently from Sydney so we visited them, and it was one of the most gorgeous places I’ve ever been in my whole life.
Where I’m eating and drinking: Breakfast and coffee from Kurumac in Marrickville. It’s around the corner from our studio and serves Japanese breakfasts in a cosy cafe style, so beautifully prepared and cosy.
Ben Lee, musician and podcaster
What I’m reading:Chris Knox: Not Given Lightly by Craig Robertson.
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What I’m watching:Cosmic Psychos: Blokes You Can Trust documentary, Real Housewives of Salt Lake City.
What I’m listening to: Dealers of God, Convenience Store, FVNERAL, Huck Hastings.
Where my summer bolthole/weekend escape is: Scott’s Head.
Where I’m eating and drinking: Vodka martinis and light dinner bites at Paradise, Potts Point. Best people-watching in Sydney. It’s like hipster Cheers - walk in there and you will see someone you know. Such a great atmosphere!
Ben Lee and Ione Skye host the weekly culture podcast, Weirder Together.
Elizabeth Gadsby, set designer
What I’m reading: I have to read a lot of scripts for work so it’s always a luxury to disappear into a novel. This has crossed over in my current summer reading which is a mix of work and relaxation. Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood, The Vulnerables by Sigrid Nunez, and Margaret Mee’s Amazon.
Set designer Elizabeth Gadsby is enjoying reading a novel, as most of the time she is buried in scripts. Credit: Jennifer Soo
What I’m watching: In the lead-up to Christmas, I have been watching the rehearsals of Turandot, an Opera Australia production I am working on, as well as Flora rehearsals at Bangarra. I’m balancing this out with a Christmas movie marathon with my six-year-old (Shaun the Sheep Christmas movie etc), and Netflix K-drama.
What I’m listening to: An eclectic mix for work and joy. Lux by Rosalia (who isn’t?), Flower Muscle by Jane Sheldon, The Bolshoi theatre chorus and orchestra recording of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin and Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim.
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Where my summer bolthole/weekend escape is: Since moving to the Blue Mountains, we always escape to the coast. We usually head to the South Coast near Bulli, where my sister lives, or further down to Jervis Bay or Moruya. Getting into salt-water keeps me sane, and spending even just a night or two down the coast is a great reset.
Where I’m eating and drinking: In the mountains, there are some amazing places for coffee and food. Blackheath has a great wine bar called Frankie and Mo’s that we try to get to when we have a free night and a babysitter. Wentworth Falls has a new cafe, Butter, with great coffee and a cold breakfast plate that reminds me of German breakfasts, and the Laughing Elephant in Wenty has great bahn mi and rice paper rolls.
