Latest news with #HotelEsplanade
Sydney Morning Herald
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
She was told women weren't funny. Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French showed her otherwise
When British stand-up comedian Jen Brister brings her latest show, Reactive, to Australia, she will perform in almost entirely sold-out rooms. Rewind to 1998, and the scenario was a little different. Brister was living in the Melbourne beachside suburb of St Kilda and would spend her Sunday evenings at the Hotel Esplanade, performing five-to-seven-minute sets at the weekly comedy night. They rarely went well. 'I'd wake up at 2am going, 'Oh my God, all those people saw me do that terrible gig!' ' she laughs from her hotel in New Zealand, where she's launching the Reactive world tour. Regardless, the promoter would always implore her to come back the next week. 'He'd say, 'That's stand-up. You keep going until you're good.' He saw something in me.' Despite such inauspicious beginnings, the London-born 50-year-old claims she never entertained an alternative career. 'I've had such a love-hate relationship with comedy because it's been so difficult, and I found it at times quite traumatic to make my way through to reach any kind of success,' she says. 'And I'm not talking about selling out in Australia, I'm talking about making a living on the club circuit 10 to 15 years ago, which was what I was aspiring to.
The Age
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Age
She was told women weren't funny. Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French showed her otherwise
When British stand-up comedian Jen Brister brings her latest show, Reactive, to Australia, she will perform in almost entirely sold-out rooms. Rewind to 1998, and the scenario was a little different. Brister was living in the Melbourne beachside suburb of St Kilda and would spend her Sunday evenings at the Hotel Esplanade, performing five-to-seven-minute sets at the weekly comedy night. They rarely went well. 'I'd wake up at 2am going, 'Oh my God, all those people saw me do that terrible gig!' ' she laughs from her hotel in New Zealand, where she's launching the Reactive world tour. Regardless, the promoter would always implore her to come back the next week. 'He'd say, 'That's stand-up. You keep going until you're good.' He saw something in me.' Despite such inauspicious beginnings, the London-born 50-year-old claims she never entertained an alternative career. 'I've had such a love-hate relationship with comedy because it's been so difficult, and I found it at times quite traumatic to make my way through to reach any kind of success,' she says. 'And I'm not talking about selling out in Australia, I'm talking about making a living on the club circuit 10 to 15 years ago, which was what I was aspiring to.
Sydney Morning Herald
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
The new Noosa: The best places to eat and drink beyond Hastings Street
Noosa has a subtropical climate, making it a pleasant place to visit year-round. The region attracts two million tourists a year, with school holidays, particularly in spring and summer, drawing the largest number of visitors. For smaller crowds, consider visiting in May or June, when the days are still warm enough to swim and the evenings remain mild. For the full Noosa experience, time your visit to coincide with the annual Noosa Eat & Drink Festival, held this year from May 29 to June 1. The four-day festival showcases the best chefs and ingredients from the region, as well as top talent from around the country. This year's program features chef's tables, long lunches, beach parties and masterclasses, held by high-profile chefs from around the country, such as Louis Tikaram, Martin Boetz, Andy Allen and MasterChef fan favourite Rose Adam, among others. View the full program at Noosa Eat and Drink festival highlights On Sunday, June 1, chefs Telina Menzies (Hotel Esplanade, St Kilda), Alanna Sapwell-Stone (Eltham Hotel) and Ryan Fitzpatrick (The Ohana Group) will reimagine Australian pub classics in the laidback surrounds of Halse Lodge. Join Matteo Galletto, chef Alberto Vitassovich and the team from Walker Seafood for a tuna-cutting ceremony at Lucio's Marina, followed by a five-course tuna tasting menu, on Thursday, May 29. Let the food fight begin! Australia Pork will present PorkStar Live Cooking Battles on the festival's main stage on Saturday, May 31. Hosted by celebrity chef Hayden Quinn, two teams will compete to create the best dish from a mystery box of pork cuts.
The Age
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
The new Noosa: The best places to eat and drink beyond Hastings Street
Noosa has a subtropical climate, making it a pleasant place to visit year-round. The region attracts two million tourists a year, with school holidays, particularly in spring and summer, drawing the largest number of visitors. For smaller crowds, consider visiting in May or June, when the days are still warm enough to swim and the evenings remain mild. For the full Noosa experience, time your visit to coincide with the annual Noosa Eat & Drink Festival, held this year from May 29 to June 1. The four-day festival showcases the best chefs and ingredients from the region, as well as top talent from around the country. This year's program features chef's tables, long lunches, beach parties and masterclasses, held by high-profile chefs from around the country, such as Louis Tikaram, Martin Boetz, Andy Allen and MasterChef fan favourite Rose Adam, among others. View the full program at Noosa Eat and Drink festival highlights On Sunday, June 1, chefs Telina Menzies (Hotel Esplanade, St Kilda), Alanna Sapwell-Stone (Eltham Hotel) and Ryan Fitzpatrick (The Ohana Group) will reimagine Australian pub classics in the laidback surrounds of Halse Lodge. Join Matteo Galletto, chef Alberto Vitassovich and the team from Walker Seafood for a tuna-cutting ceremony at Lucio's Marina, followed by a five-course tuna tasting menu, on Thursday, May 29. Let the food fight begin! Australia Pork will present PorkStar Live Cooking Battles on the festival's main stage on Saturday, May 31. Hosted by celebrity chef Hayden Quinn, two teams will compete to create the best dish from a mystery box of pork cuts.
South China Morning Post
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
The Hotel Esplanade Zagreb's century of famous guests, from David Beckham to Richard Nixon
East met West and often went for cocktails in Zagreb's Hotel Esplanade. Advertisement The most glamorous and storied hotel in the Balkans has just celebrated its 100th birthday and is still packing in the stars, from Shakira to David Beckham. Richard Nixon and Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev were both guests in its heyday, and a galaxy of Hollywood legends – from Elizabeth Taylor to Orson Welles and Alfred Hitchcock – crossed the Iron Curtain to hang out in its art deco bar. Others came to gamble in its casino – the only one allowed in Communist Yugoslavia at the time. The lobby of the Hotel Esplanade. It was built close to the Croatian capital's main railway station to accommodate passengers on the Orient Express. Photo: AFP Robert Mitchum, Pierce Brosnan and Kate Beckinsale all starred in films shot in the hotel, which was built close to the Croatian capital's main railway station to accommodate passengers on the Orient Express, the luxury train that ran between Paris and Istanbul.
