Things to do in Canberra this week (21 March to 27 March)

Though we can feel the first few hints of autumn in the morning chill, there’s no reason to slow down just yet. We’ve got the best events all over Canberra to keep you entertained no matter what you’re into; we’ve got family-friendly science events, groundbreaking plays, special movie showings and rally cars … it’s hard to believe it’s all in the same week!

Multiple Days

The House of Bernarda Alba

When: 20 March to 23 March and 26 March to 27 March; see website for more details on session times
Where: ACT Hub at Causeway Hall
Cost: Tickets from $35 to $45.

Social conventions, rigid norms and religious expectations collide in this Spanish play centring on the mourning imposed by a matriarch over her all-female household after the death of the patriarch, further complicated by one daughter inheriting more than the others. Exploring repression, conformity and passion, playwright Federico García Lorca detailed the lives of rural women during the Civil War when the social order and position of Spanish women were deeply unstable. His work was dangerous enough to warrant a ban on his writing in his homeland.

Lost and Found – Penelope Boyd

When: 20 March to 23 March and 26 March to 27 March
Where: Grainger Gallery, 1 Dairy Road, Building 3.3, Fyshwick
Cost: Free.

Boyd’s work adopts the techniques of the old masters and uses them to place her subjects in foreboding landscapes detached from any real spaces, often engaged in strange, nonsensical acts. Her ‘Lost and Found’ series is a range of unconventional and compelling portraits that will make you think (and feel just a bit uncomfortable).

Rally of Canberra 2025 – Round 1

When: Friday 21 – 23 March
Where: In and around the forests of ACT – Kowen Forests and Tidbinbilla Forests. See the spectator guide.
Cost: Free.

The Rally of Canberra returns in 2025 as the first leg of the Australian Rally Championship.

Running between 21 March and 23 March, this promises to be an exciting start to the championship where anyone could take a podium finish.

If you want some pre-race excitement, head to Bunda Street in Civic on Friday from 5 pm to 6:30 pm to check out the cars and the drivers parked along the street. Drivers are keen to answer questions from the public about their driving, their machines and racing in general. It’s a great way to get closer to the magic and see how the drivers think, as well as see those cars in a little more detail.

If you’re still riding the high of the Australian GP but want more, watch as overpowered, super-charged rally cars rip and tear through the Tidbinbilla and Kowen forests, skidding against the ground, fighting for every inch of traction they can get. If you’re a motorhead itching for some sound and fury, check out the Rally of Canberra.

This week at the NFSA

When: 21 March and 22 March
Where: Arc Cinema National Film and Sound Archive of Australia, McCoy Circuit, Acton
Cost: Tickets from $12 to $20.

On Friday, the NFSA hosts one of its special Pizza & Pyjamas nights, where your ticket comes with pizza on arrival, and you’re encouraged to wear your comfiest gear to help you settle into a great flick.

This Friday’s special film is none other than Spirited Away, the Hayao Miyazaki sensation that captured the minds of audiences like no other Japanese cultural export. A standout of Miyazaki’s already impressive body of work, Spirited Away is a creative and exciting film about a young girl who crosses over into a realm of spirits and ghosts and then desperately tries to get back. This will sell out fast, so buy your tickets today.

Also playing on Saturday is Bong Joon Ho’s Snowpiercer, a biting satire about social structures, the powers that be and the lengths that people will go to to maintain or destroy a particular social order. Fans of Bong’s Oscar-winning film Parasite will love this thriller that balances moments of sci-fi dystopia and stomach-churning action through the story of a slave revolt against the elites on the last remaining bastion of humanity on earth, a miracle train.

Canberra Electric Vehicle Drive Day

When: 22 March and 23 March
Where: Sutton Road Training Centre, 441 Sutton Road, Majura
Cost: Free to attend; bookings are required for test drives.

Looking to switch to an EV but have some questions? Maybe you are looking for a test drive? The Canberra Electric Vehicle Drive Day is all about providing you with the tools you need to make that decision, including free test drives, information stalls and industry experts who can answer any question about charging, ownership, environmental impacts and more.

Hot Air Balloons: Science in Action

When: 22 March at 6 am and 23 March at 8 am
Where: John Dunmore Lang Place, Parkes
Cost: Free.

Have you or your kids ever looked up at the Balloon Spectacular and wondered how they get up there? This fun and interactive show with Dr Chloe Lim from Twistyfic will teach you the physics that goes into hot air balloons. Delve into the roles that heat, air pressure and buoyancy each play in filling the Canberra skyline with dozens of beautiful balloons. It’s a great way to foster inquiring scientific minds to think deeply about the world around them, as well as teach them important scientific concepts.

Night and Now – Canberra Symphony Orchestra

When: Wednesday 26 March & Thursday 27 March, 7:30 pm
Where: Llewellyn Hall, ANU School of Music
Cost: $16-124. Tickets are available via CSO.

A night of orchestral masterpieces awaits at ANU’s Llewellyn Hall as the Canberra Symphony Orchestra plays seminal works led by conductor Jessica Cottis.

Charles Ives’ The Unanswered Question is a trumpet and woodwind-heavy performance seeking to embody the human experience through sound.

Ives’ work is followed by Night and now from Elena Kats-Chernin, a rich work informed by the artist’s childhood in Russia.

The final piece of the night was also the final work of this artist’s life. Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 was the last thing the titan of Russian and European classical music ever made, a reflection on desire, grief and life from an artist of Tchaikovsky’s skill and scope is well worth the price of admission.

Saturday

Harvest Day Out at Lanyon Homestead

When: 10 am to 3 pm, Saturday 22 March
Where: Lanyon Homestead
Cost: Free to attend; some events have a fee. Learn more via Harvest Day Out.

Immerse yourself in all things Autumn at Harvest Day Out. This annual event is a celebration of heritage, sustainability and the season. It will be held at the stunning Lanyon Homestead. Visitors can enjoy a full day of hands-on workshops, expert talks, live demonstrations, market stalls and cultural experiences.

Workshops explore topics such as beekeeping, native plant use, weaving, and vegetable gardening. Free demonstrations include preserving and marmalade making, whip cracking, and an introduction to agricultural robotics.

Tuesday

French Film Festival 2025 – CinéWine, Italian Night ‘The Deluge’

When: Tuesday 25 March, 6 pm glass of wine on arrival, 6:30 pm screening of The Deluge (Le Deluge)
Where: Palace Electric Cinema
Cost: $27 for AF and Palace members | $32 for non-members. Tickets available via French Film Festival.

The remarkable Mélanie Laurent and Guillaume Canet take centre stage in writer-director Gianluca Jodice’s transfixing historical drama, The Deluge, evocatively depicting the last days of the French Revolution and the fates of Marie Antoinette and King Louis XVI, the last monarchs of France.

The Embassy of Italy sponsors this special screening.

Upcoming events:

• Resonant Spaces at CMAG – 28 March and 4 April
• Remembering the Fires: How one community has recorded their memories at the National Library – 29 March
• The Magic World of Crazy Science – 17 April
• Sweet Charity – 29 April to 18 May.

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