35+ ways to spend this week in Canberra
Posted on
A pint full of science, a chocolate and wine pairing workshop, oodles of Australian cocktails and a face-off between the Brumbies and Crusaders.
Here’s how to spend this week in Canberra.
Eight Things Not To Miss
SIX [Final week!]
International smash-hit pop musical SIX lands in Canberra tomorrow night! What can you expect? A modern take on the tale of the six wives of Henry VIII and an electrifying, high-octane journey as these Tudor Queens turned Pop Princesses take to the mic to reclaim their story.
The six Queens are set against the theatrical backdrop of a pop concert, and battle it out to be the lead singer in their band. Each having their moment in the stoplight, it’s a catchy way to brush up on history while also keeping “girl power” at the fore—where it should be.
Until 15 May | Canberra Theatre Centre | canberratheatrecentre.com.au
Brumbies v Crusaders
It’s the ultimate pre-finals test, right here in Canberra! The Brumbies take on New Zealand powerhouse the Crusaders in the ultimate pre-finals test. It’s the powerhouse match up that’s worth leaving the house for.
13 May | GIO Stadium | brumbies.rugby
Taste Local Workshops with Lake George Winery and Sweet Pea & Poppy
Discover local produce and enjoy unique experiences of tasting adventures and masterclasses at Canberra Centre’s Taste Local Festival – a month-long celebration of local producers and talents.
Lake George Winery is family owned and operated and is located on the north-western shores of the mysterious Lake George. Their handpicked grapes follow sustainable practices and their wine is vegan friendly.
On Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 May, Lake George Winery will take you on an entertaining and educational wine and chocolate pairing journey. Partnering with Sweet Pea and Poppy, it’s not to be missed.
Book your spot for one of the three 60-minute workshops:
- 1 pm Saturday 14 May
- 3 pm Saturday 14 May
- 2 pm Sunday 15 May
Tickets are $20pp. PLEASE NOTE that seating will be two people per table.
14–15 May | Located inside the doors of City Walk, Canberra Centre | Tickets via Eventbrite
Australian Cocktail Month
Australian Cocktail Month is back in May 2022 with discounts on delicious cocktails at six Canberra bars – supporting bars, bartenders and spirit makers along the way.
Your Australian Cocktail Month ticket lasts for the duration of May, allowing you access to a special menu of cocktails created exclusively for the month. So grab your ticket, gather your friends, support the bar industry and discover what your city has to offer at the following participating bars throughout May: Bar Rochford, High Jinks, Miss Van’s, Molly, Volstead Repeal and Zaab
Like cocktails? Love good times? Australian Cocktail Month is for you.
Until 30 May | Various locations | australiancocktailmonth.com.au
Roger Beale AO: The Magic of Light, a Solo Exhibition
Entranced by the way light, especially warm slanting light, brings flowers, landscapes and people to life, Beale’s Solo Exhibition of over sixty works include large-scale oil paintings of flowers amongst powerful and nostalgic landscapes, portrait sketches and detailed pen and ink drawings.
Subjects include Paris’s famous Luxembourg Gardens in Spring, café portraits of the characters of the 6th arrondissement in the heart of Paris’s left bank (Rive Gauche), through vertiginous vineyards in Piedmont to moody memories of Sicily. And, of course, a revel of glorious blooms from our spring and summer.
Online catalogue available via the website.
Until Sunday 29 May | Humble House gallery, 93 Wollongong Street, Fyshwick | humblehouse.com.au
Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
Yass, that’s right, the drag queens of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, have taken their magical bus all the way to The Q. Rally your fellow queens for a magic show of love, friendship, dazzling costumes, and a lot of laughs.
Until 22 May | The Q, Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre | theq.net.au
Beyond Borders: People, Plastic and Pollution
A collaborative art exhibition exploring the issue of plastic pollution—a problem transcending national borders
The Embassy of Sweden and the School of Art & Design at the Australian National University are jointly organizing the exhibition Beyond Borders: People, Plastic and Pollution at the Embassy of Sweden in Canberra.
The exhibition consists of two installations – PHYT! and Bedroom Plastic – created by a group of young Australian art and design students who examines plastic pollution through creative art. The Swedish Institute’s exhibition Re:waste – how Sweden is rethinking resources is also on display.
In June 2022, Stockholm+50, an important UN-mandated international environmental meeting, will be held in Stockholm, Sweden. In the context and spirit of Stockholm+50, the Embassy of Sweden wants with this exhibition to engage in a dialogue on an environmental issue of significant importance—plastic pollution.
Saturday 14 May and Saturday 21 May, 11 am – 2 pm | Embassy of Sweden, 5 Turrana Street, Yarralumla | beyondborderspeopleplasticandpollution.eventbrite.com.au
Artist Talk, Roger Beale AO, The Magic of Light
Enjoy an Artist Talk with Roger Beale AO as he discusses The Magic of Light Exhibition at Humble House gallery.
Roger will present a talk at the gallery where he will discuss his art and background influences. He will also give a tour of the exhibition talking about the works, where and why they were created and the techniques he employs.
This afternoon is a wonderful opportunity to meet Roger whilst viewing his works in more detail and learn about his art practice.
Sunday 15 May from 2 pm | Humble House gallery | Free entry, no bookings required, all welcome | humblehouse.com.au
Festivals
Pint of Science Festival
Pint of Science Festival is back in pubs and will be having nightly events from 9 to 11 of May simultaneously in Canberra and across the country.
One such highlight is Dr Daniel Dashevsky from CSIRO will be delving into the coevolution of humans and snakes, and how that has led to a venom vendetta at King O’Malley, Canberra, Tuesday, 10 May.
Snakes and humans have been in conflict for millennia and the threats we pose to each other have shaped the evolution of both groups. Many people develop a phobia of snakes while snakes have evolved visual warnings and defensive venoms to fend us off.
Daniel, and many other exciting scientists, will be taking to the stage to share their research over the course of the festival.
Check out the full program and get your ticket at pintofscience.com.au/events/canberra.
Music and more
Pachanga! Afro-Latin Roots + Urban Culture
After selling out the first edition – PACHANGA! returns with a special line up of local + interstage artists focusing on Afro-Latin Roots and Urban Culture with live bands and dance performances across two stages.
Find the full line up at Moshtix.
Friday 13 May from 7 pm | The Basement, Belconnen | Moshtix
Selby and Friends
Selby & Friends is touring with three brilliant guest artists and a new program entitled “Four-Part Harmony” featuring favourite piano quartets by Fauré, Dvořák and iconic Australian composer Paul Stanhope.
A wonderful opportunity to hear four extraordinary artists together for the first time, SSO Concertmaster Andrew Haveron and Principal Viola Tobias Breider join young rising star cellist Miles Mullin-Chivers and Artistic Director/pianist Kathryn Selby in seven concerts.
Thrill to the passion of Gabriel Fauré’s first piano quartet, the utterly delicious melodic realm of Antonín Dvořák’s second piano quartet and Stanhope’s lyrical hymn quartet in this stunning program.
10 May | Llewellyn Hall | ticketek.com.au
Baroque, Spanish and Latin American Works for Guitar
Four outstanding young classical guitarists play an exciting program of works by J.S. Bach, Villa Lobos, Tarrega and others.
11 May | Wesley Music Centre, 20 National Circuit, Forrest | wesleycanberra.org.au
Alice Skye
An artist at the dawning of a meteoric rise, Alice Skye has been making waves with her unique storytelling ability and magnetic songwriting. Once-private bedroom scribbles are presented as articulate lyrics on love, loss, and life, offering a looking glass into the world Alice Skye finds herself in.
Skye’s album, I Feel Better But I Don’t Feel Good (produced by Jen Cloher), sees her expanding sonic boundaries, bringing grungier, heavier flavours to the evolving sound, resulting in one entrancing passage after another.
12 May | Canberra Theatre Centre | canberratheatrecentre.com.au
The Mara! Big Band: Zashto?
The Mara! Big Band is a twelve-piece ensemble where Eastern European gypsy brass band meets jazz big band traditions. Featuring the cream of Australia’s jazz and world music illuminati and a beguiling kaleidoscope of musical colours including brass, piano accordion, percussion and voice.
Premiering in 2022 Zashto? [or “Why?” in Bulgarian] is an epic new 60-minute musical suite mixing the experience of migration to Australia and the spectre of incarceration (physical and psychological) that has hovered over each wave of migration in the past 230 years.
13 May | The Street Theatre | thestreet.org.au
Press Club
Your Saturday night looking a bit dry? Craving a beer and some funky rock tunes? Press Club is back bringing with them their classic hits, as all as some new tunes to keep you die-hard fans on your toes.
14 May | UC Hub | moshtix.com.au
All the gigs at Smith’s Alternative
From poetry to jazz, open mic to origami, Smith’s Alternative has an incredible range of live performances every week. Check out the calendar, grab your friends, and support Canberra’s arts scene.
All month | Smith’s Alternative, 76 Alinga Street, Canberra City | smithsalternative.com
Food & Drink
Australian Cocktail Month
Australian Cocktail Month is back in May 2022 with discounts on delicious cocktails at six Canberra bars – supporting bars, bartenders and spirit makers along the way.
Your Australian Cocktail Month ticket lasts for the duration of May, allowing you access to a special menu of cocktails created exclusively for the month. So grab your ticket, gather your friends, support the bar industry and discover what your city has to offer at the following participating bars throughout May: Bar Rochford, High Jinks, Miss Van’s, Molly, Volstead Repeal and Zaab
Like cocktails? Love good times? Australian Cocktail Month is for you.
Until 30 May | Various locations | australiancocktailmonth.com.au
Stage
Three Tall Women
ACT Hub’s Season 2022 is off to an amazing start with rehearsals for Edward Albee’s most autobiographical play in full swing, also the debut of one of Canberra’s newest theatre companies, Chaika Theatre.
Three Tall Women is the story of a sophisticated, flawed and complex woman as she looks back unsentimentally at her extraordinary life. A portrait of Albee’s tempestuous relationship with his adoptive mother, the role is played at different stages of her life by three of Canberra’s most celebrated actresses – Natasha Vickery, Lainie Hart and Karen Vickery.
Scathingly funny whilst touchingly vulnerable, this Pulitzer Prize-winning drama has been described as a ‘pearl-handled dagger of a play’.
4–21 May | ACT Hub, Causeway Hall, Spinifex Street, Kingston | acthub.com.au
Schapelle Schapelle: The Musical
This fast-paced musical comedy is a satirical exploration of Australia’s weakness for media sensationalism, as told through the life of Schapelle Corby upon her arrest for drug smuggling in Bali in 2005.
Fictionalised, but featuring pivotal actual events and verbatim elements, Schapelle Schapelle captures a story of absurdity, opportunism, loneliness and redemption.
11 May | The Street Theatre | thestreet.org.au
The Shadow Whose Prey the Hunter Becomes
Weaving a narrative through human rights, sexual politics, and the projected dominance of artificial intelligence, The Shadow Whose Prey the Hunter Becomes is a sly theatrical revelation inspired by mistakes, mis-readings, mis-leadings and misunderstanding.
The Shadow Whose Prey the Hunter Becomes is a story about a public meeting, the type of meeting you would hope to happen in a certain kind of democracy. How do we come together to make decisions that are in the best interest of a civic society? This is a play about individual and collective responsibility.
11–13 May | Canberra Theatre Centre | canberratheatrecentre.com.au
Hotel Sorrento
An Australian modern classic, Canberra REP Theatre’s Hotel Sorrento takes a family drama laced with love, secrets and betrayals, and overlays it with broader questions about cultural and national identity. Three sisters reunite in their sleepy hometown of Sorrento after 10 years apart and old tensions start bubbling to the surface. These are fuelled by a novel written by Meg, which has been nominated for the Booker, and which contains details that are uncomfortably familiar to her sisters.
See the Preview 8 pm 28 April, followed by a Q&A with the director and cast.
Until 14 May | Canberra REP Theatre, (Theatre 3), 3 Repertory Lane, Acton | canberrarep.org.au
Workshops, lectures, Open Days, walks + more
AEIOU Canberra Region Open Days
AEIOU Canberra Region, the first centre of its kind in the Canberra Region which opened its doors in 2021, is holding its first ever Open Days in May.
This is a chance for interested families, allied health clinicians, and early learning and education professionals to visit inside the centre, meet the team, meet other families and find out more about specialist therapy programs for children with autism.
Open Days are taking place in two sessions, Thursday 12 and Friday 13 May, both from 10 am – 12noon. This is two opportunities when the centre will open its doors to the local community to demonstrate how their individualised therapy and care program can support children and their families.
Thursday 12 and Friday 13 May from 10am – 12pm each day |AEIOU Canberra Region. 2 Rusden Street, Garran | Registration is essential. Register for the Thursday session here and the Friday session here
Guided Walks at the Botanic Gardens
Fancy a trip to the botanical gardens? Get the most out of your trip with a free guided walk. Led by knowledgeable guides, these walks allow you to appreciate the beauty and clever adaptations of Australian plants and the research and effort involved in creating and maintaining the Gardens.
Until August 2022| Australian National Botanic Gardens | parksaustralia.gov.au
Film
Moro Spanish Film Festival
The Moro Spanish Film Festival presented by Palace will return in 2022 with a curated selection of dramas, thrillers and major box-office hit comedies from across Spain, plus a selection of gems from Latin America. Rediscover the big screen with this unforgettable celebration of Hispanic culture.
Until 15 May | Palace Electric Cinemas, 2 Phillip Law Street, NewActon | palacecinemas.com.au
Exhibitions
Inspirations from the garden
Leigh Murray is a Canberra based artists, who is giving a moment of well-deserved adoration for Australia’s Natives. Inspiration from the Garden captures the beauty and diversity of native flora to encourage a keener appreciation of the importance of the Gardens Living Collection.
A humble reminder that money can’t buy happiness, sometimes an Aussie Native will do just the trick.
11–15 May | Australian National Botanic Gardens | parksaustralia.gov.au
DECODED: 75 years of the Australian Signals Directorate
Find out if you have what it takes to be a cyber security operative at DECODED: 75 years of the Australian Signals Directorate, a free exhibition at the National Museum of Australia.
Explore objects, hear inside stories, and scan code words to reveal the hidden history of Australia’s oldest national intelligence organisation kept secret until 1977.
Until 24 July 2022 | National Museum of Australia | nma.gov.au
Home Grown
In this exhibition, Canberra-based furniture and object designer/maker Jeremy Brown will celebrate the beautiful street trees of Canberra.
Combining his two main threads of practice; furniture making and botanical illustration, Brown will create a juxtaposition between the natural and built environments and to bridge the disconnect between the origins of raw materials and the final product (i.e., a piece of furniture). Combining design-by-nature and design-by-human, this exhibition will also promote the use of local materials, which is integral to maintaining a smaller environmental footprint.
Until 14 May | Craft ACT, 180 London Circuit, Level 1, North Building, Canberra City | craftact.org.au
Three new exhibitions at PhotoAccess
PhotoAccess is delighted to present the opening of their next suite of Huw Davies Gallery exhibitions: Between Hope and Despair, by Natasha Fijn, Eating Wild Weeds by Alex Flannery, and Archive Apparitions by Elisa deCourcy.
In this intriguing suite of exhibitions the artists transverse time and place, exploring the possibilities of cross-cultural and/or intergenerational communication through the photographic medium.
Until 21 May | PhotoAccess, 30 Manuka Circle, Griffith | photoaccess.org.au
Lake Ginninderra: Nine ways
Often unfairly overlooked in favour of Lake Burley Griffin, it’s only fair that Belconnen’s iconic lake has a moment of humble adoration.
The exhibition will combine local artists, beautiful local landscapes and the synergy of the revitalised new facilities at Belo Arts.
Lake Ginninderra: Nine Ways is a body of work from artists who have captured and interpreted the Lake Ginninderra vista through their own medium and viewpoint. Interested in seeing the lake from a different perspective? Give the link below a gander.
Until 15 May | Belconnen Arts Centre | belcoarts.com.au/lake-ginninderra
Kaleidoscope: An exhibition celebrating LGBTQI+ pride
The LGBTQI+ community is so much more than six colours. Diversity and inclusion are the glue that binds the community; the common thread that makes connections and provokes dialogue. Everyone has their own ideas about what it means to be part of this diverse rainbow community.
Belco Arts is celebrating the LGBTQI+ community, and all that makes up its diversity of perspectives, lived experiences and shared ambitions by inviting LGBTQI+ artists in Canberra and throughout Australia – at any level of artistic experience – to create and share what being queer and being part of the LGBTQI+ means to them.
Until 15 May | Belco Arts | belcoarts.com.au
Upending Expectations
As the title Upending Expectations: Contemporary Glass implies, the focus of this exhibition is on artists whose experimental, innovative and at times cross-disciplinary practice, utilises glass and its properties of light, transparency and reflection, through a diverse range of approaches.
Until 15 June | Canberra Glassworks | canberraglassworks.com
Australians & Hollywood
Australians & Hollywood: A Tale of Craft, Talent and Ambition is a Canberra-exclusive exhibition celebrating iconic moments in contemporary Australian film.
This blockbuster exhibition by the NFSA features beloved cinema moments, rare behind-the-scenes footage and costumes and props from the NFSA collection on display for the first time. Discover the creativity and craft that goes into making a classic and get up close with personal treasures from Eric Bana, Paul Hogan, Baz Luhrmann and more.
Until 17 July | National Sound and Film Archive of Australia | nfsa.gov.au
Jeffrey Smart [Final week!]
The year 2021 marks one hundred years since the birth of acclaimed Australian artist Jeffrey Smart. This major exhibition celebrates and commemorates this significant centenary.
One of Australia’s most celebrated artists, Smart sought inspiration from the world around him – looking to the environment of urban and industrial modernity – which he transformed through his imaginative sense of theatre and intimate understanding of geometry and composition. These potent and intriguing images have become emblematic of 20th and 21st-century urban experience.
Want to take your experience to the next level? Why not book a private tour?
Until 15 May | National Gallery of Australia | nga.gov.au
Shakespeare to Winehouse: Icons from the National Portrait Gallery, London
From Shakespeare to Winehouse, Darwin to Dickens, the Beatles, Brontë sisters and Beckham, the National Portrait Gallery London holds the world’s most extensive collection of portraits. While they undergo the largest renovation of their building in 125 years, more than 80 treasures from their collection are on show in Canberra for this exclusive exhibition.
Until 17 July | National Portrait Gallery | portrait.gov.au
Fourth National Indigenous Art Triennial: Ceremony
Ceremony remains central to the creative practice of many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists. From the intimate and personal to the collective and collaborative, ceremonies manifest through visual art, film, music and dance. This immersive exhibition and program of events will challenge and unsettle; animate and heal.
Through the work of 35 artists from around Australia, Ceremony reveals how the practice of ceremony is at the nexus of Country, culture and community.
Until 31 July | National Gallery of Australia | nga.gov.au
On Stage: Spotlight On our Performing Arts
This exhibition brings Australia’s performing arts history into the limelight, also providing a backstage pass to the action behind the scenes, showcasing perspectives on stage direction, costume design, scripts, contracts and musical scores used by performers.
Presented together for the first time and drawing exclusively from the collections of the National Library, the exhibition features items that have never before been on display. Other highlights include the earliest surviving Australian printed document, selections from the JC Williamson theatre archives, and other contemporary live music and theatre posters.
Until 7 August | National Library of Australia | nla.gov.au
Markets
Old Bus Depot Markets
With more than 100 stalls (including your old favourites), you’ll have the chance to shop for a brilliant variety of Australian-made, handcrafted and premium products. And this week it’s Portobello Road—a chance to hunt for original antiques, jewellery and collectables.
9.30 am – 2.30 pm Sunday | Wentworth Avenue, Kingston | obdm.com.au
Haig Park Village Markets
Taking place every Sunday rain, hail or shine, the Haig Park Village Markets has fresh produce, beautiful flowers, artisan breads, meats, treats and more. You can even enjoy a picnic in the park before grabbing your essentials for the week!
9 am–2 pm Sunday | Haig Park, Braddon | haigparkvillagemarkets.com.au
Capital Region Farmers Markets
With more than 100 stallholders each week, the Capital Region Farmers Market at EPIC Park has endless options when it comes to freshly picked, grown and handcrafted produce.
Fill the garden using their great selection of natives and landscape plants, fruit trees, seedlings and shrubs or fill your stomach with freshly baked bread, cakes, macarons and croissants.
7 am–11.30 am Saturday | Exhibition Park in Canberra | capitalregionfarmersmarket.com.au
Southside Farmers Markets
This village market is located at Canberra College, making it the perfect place to duck in to grab what you need (and maybe a few things you don’t). Order an egg and bacon roll to start the morning as you explore the best of fresh seasonal veggies, handmade pasta and pet treats.
8 am–11.30 am Sunday | 2 Launceston Street, Phillip | facebook.com
Feature image: Australian Cocktail Month. Image supplied.
