Creations by Ryan McNaught (also known as The Brickman) are among the items at a LEGO exhibition at Questacon. Photo: James Coleman.
The mercury has well and truly dropped. While our puffer jackets, scarves and beanies have been doing their best to keep us warm, the welcome arrival of a weekend is sure to chase away some of that winter chill.
For the curious, LEGO designs will delight in Questacon (and you won’t have to worry about picking up all of those very small pieces), while dance, theatre and music of all kinds is sure to delight. The coming week will also bring French flair to some early Christmas celebrations (we’ll bring the tinsel if you bring the tree).
Multiple days
After falling on hard times, Blanche DuBois goes to stay with her estranged sister in New Orleans. But her arrival isn’t welcomed by everyone. Image: Free-Rain Theatre Company.
A Streetcar Named Desire
When: 19 June to 29 June, shows from 1:30 pm or 7:30 pm
Where: ACT Hub, 14 Spinifex Street, Kingston
Cost: Tickets cost between $36 and $42 and are available online.
Blanche is a former Southern belle with a complicated past. When she unexpectedly visits Stella, her estranged sister, she brings skeletons that will threaten Stella’s marriage – as well as her own future. As Stella’s husband, Stanley, digs into her façade, Blanche’s fragile world begins to fracture. This adaption of Tennessee Williams’ play is set in the French Quarter of New Orleans in 1947 – the same year the play was written and contains coarse language, mature themes, and depictions of domestic abuse and sexual violence.
Your eyes aren’t deceiving you – these are LEGO versions of the Solar System. Photos: James Coleman.
Curiosity: Building Breakthroughs in LEGO Bricks exhibition
When: until 11 May 2025, 9 am to 5 pm daily
Where: Gallery One, Questacon, King Edward Terrace, Parkes
Cost: Entry to the exhibition is included in general admission to Questacon; attendees can pre-book their entry via Questacon’s website.
Some of the most complicated LEGO creations ever built can be found at Questacon. Ryan McNaught from the LEGO Masters television series, along with a team of 36 builders, assembled the designs in Melbourne and carefully packed them away so they could be moved to Canberra. Attendees can also get involved – build a bridge at one table, build LEGO ducks or check out display cabinets celebrating women’s contributions to science and more. The exhibition also includes Braille bricks.
The Data Set is a new contemporary dance work by Canberra’s award-winning Australian Dance Party. Image: Australian Dance Party/Facebook.
The Data Set
When: 27 June to 29 June, 7:30 pm to 8:30 pm each day
Where: The Vault, Dairy Road Precinct, 1 Dairy Road, Fyshwick
Cost: Tickets cost between $30 and $100 (plus booking fee) and are available via Humanitix.
A dance between two bodies, light, sound, and AI, The Data Set imagines a world where we physicalise the data that forms us and interrogate its purpose and power. What happens when the system rules us? What happens when the system is broken? The Dataset highlights our adaptability as humans in the face of adversity. Enjoy dinner and wine at Contentious Character, Dairy Road’s newest cellar door and restaurant, on Saturday, 29 June (6 pm sitting for 7:30 pm show; book by Friday, 28 June, 12 pm).
Friday
Let My Love Be Heard concert
When: 21 June, from 7 pm
Where: Snow Concert Hall, Canberra Grammar School’s Red Hill campus, 40 Monaro Crescent, Red Hill
Cost: Tickets cost between $63.30 and $130.23 and are available via Eventbrite.
British vocal ensemble VOCES8 was nominated for a Grammy in 2023, and this year, they’re coming to Canberra. The group will be joined by British violinist Jack Liebeck in a treat for the ears on one night only, with the program to include covers of works composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams, Johann Sebastian Bach and Ola Gjeilo, all led by Barnaby Smith as artistic director.
Can you handle the return of Messiah? Image: CSO.
Messiah
When: 21 and 22 June, 7 pm
Where: Llewellyn Hall, ANU School of Music, William Herbert Place
Cost: Tickets cost between $16 and $118 + transaction fees and are available through CSO.
Back by popular demand: the Canberra Symphony Orchestra (CSO) and the CSO Chorus present Handel’s timeless Messiah to warm hearts and lift spirits. Among the greatest hits of classical music, this momentous work has been performed countless times around the world since its 1742 premiere, from small ensembles to large-scale productions.
Composed in a matter of weeks and marked Soli Deo gloria (To God alone the glory), Handel’s powerful oratorio with English text by Charles Jennens, is uplifting and triumphant, best known for the matchless ‘Hallelujah chorus’.
Celebrated guest artists will join the orchestra and choir under the baton of Erin Helyard, an acclaimed conductor, virtuosic harpsichordist and lucid scholar.
Saturday
Ben Drysdale will launch his second solo single on Saturday afternoon. Image: Ben Drysdale Music/Facebook.
Listen Now single launch
When: 22 June, 6 pm to 8 pm (doors open at 7:30 pm)
Where: Smith’s Alternative, 76 Alinga Street, Civic
Cost: Tickets cost between $10 and $25 and are available via the venue’s website.
Award-winning Canberra Iindie folk artist Ben Drysdale will launch his second solo single, Listen Now, this weekend. It was inspired by a chat with a mate about his mental health struggles in a call for everyone to reach out when it gets tough to keep going. Guest Niall Howe will join Ben for a special performance to mark the release at Smith’s Alternative.
Sunday
The High Kings are coming to Canberra on Sunday. Image: Canberra Southern Cross Club.
The High Kings show
When: 23 June, show from 8 pm
Where: Canberra Southern Cross Club Woden, 92-96 Corinna Street, Phillip
Cost: Tickets cost between $75.20 to $121.10 (plus booking fee) and are available via Ticketek.
The High Kings from Dublin are a traditional folk group that is bringing Irish and Celtic music to Canberra once again. Following a sold-out tour last year, Finbarr Clancy, Darren Holden, Paul O’Brien and Brian Dunphy will take to the stage in Woden for a single performance. For those looking to make a night of it, there is also a dinner option where showgoers can enjoy a two-course meal from 6 pm.
Relax and take in the talents of multilingual Theodora Volti. Image: The Canberra Mandolin Orchestra/Facebook.
Piaf to Mouskouri: An Afternoon of Cabaret Music
When: 23 June, 2 pm to 4 pm
Where: Polish White Eagle Club, 38 David Street, Turner
Cost: Tickets cost between $25 and $30 and are available via Eventbrite or on the night.
Stop by the Polish Club for a taste of cabaret music. Multilingual singer Theodora Volti will take the audience on a journey through the world of the classics, made famous by stars such as Edith Piaf and Nana Mouskouri. She sings in Greek, Italian, French and English and will be accompanied by the Canberra Mandolin Orchestra, conducted by Michael Hardy.
Tuesday
A screening of a documentary film about Julian Assange will be followed by a panel discussion with Australian politicians. Photo: The Trust Fall: Julian Assange (directed by Kym Staton, 2023).
The Trust Fall: Julian Assange
When: 25 June, from 6 pm
Where: Arc Cinema, National Film and Sound Archive, McCoy Circuit, Acton
Cost: Tickets cost between $20 and $25, and are available via the Archive’s website.
The Trust Fall: Julian Assange puts the significance of the insights that WikiLeaks shared with the world, the reactions of multiple governments, the personal risks taken by Assange and questions of media freedom and public interest under the microscope. Filming took place over two years across three continents and 10 cities, and the film features an array of experts and the Assange family. A panel conversation with members of the Bring Julian Assange Home Parliamentary Group, including politicians Josh Wilson, Bridget Archer and Andrew Wilkie, will follow the screening.
Thursday
Troubles within the newsroom spill out into on-camera drama in this black comedy. Photo: Network (directed by Sidney Lumet, 1976)
Network screening
When: 27 June, from 6 pm
Where: Arc Cinema, National Film and Sound Archive, McCoy Circuit, Acton
Cost: Tickets cost between $12 and $16, and are available via the Archive’s website.
Network is a black comedy about a newsroom that’s out of control. When a news commentator threatens to shoot himself live on air, a struggling network is torn between ethics and ratings. The film received 10 Academy Award nominations and took home Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress and Best Original Screenplay. How far would you go to be a success?
It’s beginning to look a lot like (a French-inspired) Christmas in the heart of Canberra. Photo: BBR Agency.
Xmas in July Festival
When: 27 June to 30 June, 4 pm to 11 pm (Thursday), 10 am to 11 pm (Friday and Saturday) and 10 am to 8 pm (Sunday)
Where: Parkes Place lawns, King Edward Terrace, Parkes
Cost: Free general entry, though some activities have a cost and require a booking.
Christmas is still months away (six, but who’s counting?), but this is a chance for some Christmas cheer in June. Head to the Parkes Place Lawns for four days and nights of French-inspired Christmas. There will be street shows, more than 15 live concerts and other performances, over 40 pop-up stalls offering French and European cuisines and hot chocolate bars (as well as a snow lane and a chance to roast some marshmallows for a taste of white Christmas). Merry Christmas in June!
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