4 April 2019

Seven things to do around Canberra this weekend (5–7 April)

| Zoe Pleasants
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Don’t miss all the wine-related fun this weekend as the Canberra Wine Week continues.

A weekend of culture, wine and local produce coming up. The Spiegeltent continues its three-week visit with Archie Roach, Emma Pask, Mojo Juju and Craig Hill performing this weekend as well as the headline show Life: The Show. Local dancer and choreographer Liz Lea is performing her show RED at Tuggeranong Arts Centre this Friday and just ahead of that imminent election announcement, catch Nakkiah Lui’s play How to Rule the World at the Canberra Theatre to get some ideas. Canberra Youth Theatre is putting on its I’m Me festival this Friday at Gorman house featuring seven new original works developed and performed by 7–12 year-olds. Canberra Wine Week continues with plenty of opportunities to match good food and wine and The Forage is on again in its new location at Dairy Road, Fyshwick.

All weekend

Canberra Wine Week

Where: Various venues
When: Friday, Saturday & Sunday
Canberra Wine Week kicks off this weekend and runs until April 14 featuring wine tastings, dinner events and themed events in restaurants and bottle shops around Canberra and at vineyards in the Canberra wine region. Check out the program here. Highlights for this weekend include:

How to Rule the World

Where: Canberra Theatre
When: Friday 7:30 pm, Saturday 1:30 pm & 7:30 pm
How to Rule the World is the latest play by Nakkiah Lui. It is a fast-paced comedy about three political insiders—Aboriginal journalist Vic, Korean pro-bono immigration lawyer Zaza and Tongan political adviser Chris—who are hustling their way to the top. During a night out, and after drinking too much of their own kool-aid, the three friends decide they should get the balance of power in the Senate by running a puppet candidate in the upcoming half-Senate election. They use Lewis, an under-achieving white man with an electable face as their puppet and transform him into Tommy Ryan. But power corrupts and being a puppet master is harder than it looks. Starring Gareth Davies, Vanessa Downing, Michelle Lim Davidson, Hamish Michael, Rhys Muldoon, Anthony Taufa and Nakkiah Lui as Vic, this is a well-timed comedy that tackles the myths about multiculturalism and a fair go in Australia. Tickets from $75 for adults, $65 for concession, $55 for under 27s, book here.

Spiegeltent

Where: Civic Square
Where: Friday, Saturday and Sunday
The Spiegeltent continues its three-week visit this weekend. with Life: The Show headling the program this season. Directed by Scott Maidment, this epic production tells the story of two clowns—performed by Goos Meeuwsen and Helena Bittencourt who has performed with Cirque du Soleil—and includes live music, singing, dancing, circus acrobatics and what is called ‘attempted pryokinesis’ – the ability to create fire with the power of the mind. As well as the clowns, the show features vocalist Lee Taylor, musician Blaise Garza who currently tours with the Violent Femmes and spectacularly takes flight during the show while playing the saxophone, as well as Rechelle Mansour, Tim Kriegler and drummer Attis Clopton. Check out our story on the show here. Also appearing in the tent this weekend is:

Life: The Show is on 8:30 pm Friday and Saturday and 3 & 6 pm Sunday. Tickets from $69, book here.

Friday

RED

Where: Tuggeranong Arts Centre
When: 7 pm
RED is fearless, fierce and powerful. RED is fraught and broken, but it is still running. RED is a solo work by dancer and choreographer Liz Lea inspired by her experiences with endometriosis, a common but rarely discussed illness that affects about one in 10 women. Created in collaboration with Brian Lucas, Vicki van Hout, Martin del Amo, Virginia Ferris, Karen Norris, Nino Tamburri and Alexander Hunter, this show uses dance, film, spoken word and song to present a raw and honest account of Lea’s story. Lea says that while endometriosis did not define her life—she travelled, toured, performed and created for 20 years while she was not aware that she had the illness—it has defined her future. Tickets are $25 for adults, $20 for concession, book here. For more information, click here.

I’m Me Festival

Where: Gorman Arts Centre
When: 5 – 9 pm
Canberra Youth Theatre’s twilight performance festival created by seven–12 year-olds is on again this Friday night. Young artists from Canberra Youth Theatre and QL2 will be taking over the grounds of Gorman Arts Centre for a dynamic and immersive theatre event exploring the concept of existence in the past, present and future. The artists have created seven new original works for the festival including roving performances, immersive experiences, dance, performance poetry and interactive installations. There will also be food available for purchase including traditional wood-fired pizzas and crepes. Tickets from $15, book here.

Saturday

The Forage

Where: Dairy Road Precinct, Fyshwick
When: 2 – 7 pm
The Forage is on again this Saturday and it has moved to a new location—Dairy Road, Fyshwick. The Forage showcases local food, drink and music. It aims to give local businesses an opportunity to feed the community in a festival style environment, and the community an opportunity to come together to sample some of the best of what local businesses have to offer. The music at this Saturday’s markets will be provided by Essy Jay, Tori Chard and The Faumuis, and Nomad The Magician will also be performing. There will be free buses from NewActon to help you get there, book your ride here.

Sunday

Gang Gang Twang

Where: Ainslie Art Centre
When: 9 am – 7 pm
The Ukulele Republic of Canberra is hosting its second ukulele festival this Sunday. The previous festival was in 2017, but this second festival promises to be bigger and better! There will be workshops, performances by 13 local and regional ukulele groups and spaces to mingle with like-minded uke players. Check out the program here.

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