This coming week is packed full of events to entertain and inspire you. Photo: Jurrungu Ngan-ga (Straight Talk).
Looking for something to distract you from how far away we are from a long weekend? We’ve got ya covered …
Multiple days
“The Merry Widow” is an effervescent romp that will leave you laughing, swooning, and humming. Image: National Opera.
National Opera – The Merry Widow
When: Friday 23 August – Sunday 25 August 2024, 2 pm & 7 pm
Where: The Q – Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre, 253 Crawford Street, Queanbeyan
Cost: Adult $80, Q Member $70, Concession $60, Under 16 $45. Tickets from the National Opera.
Step into the dazzling world of high society in the shimmering streets of Paris, where love, laughter, and a touch of mischief collide in Franz Lehar’s timeless masterpiece, The Merry Widow.
Amidst the opulent ballrooms and champagne-soaked soirees, the charming and vivacious widow Hanna Glawari finds herself at the centre of attention. With her vast fortune up for grabs, suitors swarm like bees to honey, each vying for her hand and her wealth. But beware, for where there’s wealth, there’s also michief afoot!
Enter Count Danilo, the dashing playboy with a heart of gold and a mischievous twinkle in his eye. Despite their undeniable chemistry, a tangled web of pride, misunderstandings, and social intrigue threatens to keep these two star-crossed lovers apart. Will they succumb to the whims of high society, or will love triumph in the end?
Filled with enchanting tunes, toe-tapping waltzes and sparkling dialogue, The Merry Widow is an effervescent romp that will leave you laughing, swooning, and humming unforgettable melodies long after the final curtain falls. So grab your dancing shoes and join the talented company of National Opera for a night of romance, laughter, and high-spirited revelry!
The line-up is set to offer plenty of fun for everyone (and for all kinds of fandoms). Image: Oz Comic-Con.
Oz Comic-Con
When: 24 and 25 August, 10 am to 4 pm
Where: Exhibition Park in Canberra (EPIC), corner of Flemington Road and Northbourne Avenue, Mitchell
Cost: General admission tickets start at $38.50 for those aged 13 and older (children aged five to 12 (inclusive) can be admitted when a free Free Child’s Ticket is purchased, while children four and under do not need a ticket), and are available online.
A two-day festival of all things pop culture is taking over Canberra this weekend. Bring along your friends, meet fellow fans and enjoy everything from cosplay showdowns to exclusive Q&A panels dedicated to your favourite fandoms (and maybe some new ones). Test your trivia knowledge, get some tips on your next cosplay adventure, enjoy live performances, take on the competition in a lip sync battle, and much more.
Jurrungu Ngan-ga [Straight Talk]
When: 23 August and 24 August, shows from 7 pm
Where: The Playhouse, Canberra Theatre Centre, Civic Square, London Circuit, Civic
Cost: Tickets cost between $30 and $49 (plus transaction fee) and are available via the Theatre Centre’s website.
Jurrungu Ngan-ga (translated from Yawuru as ‘straight talk’) is a dance production inspired by the words and experiences of Yawuru leader Patrick Dodson, Kurdish-Iranian writer and former Manus Island detainee Behrouz Boochani, and Iranian-Australian scholar and activist Omid Tofighian. It explores the experiences of Indigenous Australians in custody and asylum seekers held in indefinite detention – and raises the question of why so many people are incarcerated.
Friday’s show (23 August) will be followed by a Q&A session with the cast, moderated by Bruce Gorring. The show is suitable for audiences aged 15 and older, or with parental discretion, and also contains low-level strobe effects, references to self-harm and partial nudity. It may contain haze effects.
Friday
Get ready to groove when the April Rose Mills Trio perform in Tuggeranong this Friday. Photo: Tuggeranong Arts Centre.
Lakeside at 5: April Rose Mills Trio
When: 23 August, 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm (bar open from 5 pm)
Where: Tuggeranong Arts Centre, 137 Reed Street, Greenway
Cost: Entry is by donation.
Tuggeranong Art Centre’s Lakeside at 5 monthly jazz performances returns with the April Rose Mills Trio. April Rose Mills is a local singer and composer who has recently returned to Canberra after completing a Bachelor of Music Composition at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. She is teaming up with guitarist Michael Larsen-Collins and bassist Eric Ajaye and heading to Tuggeranong. Together, the trio will perform jazz standards from the American Songbook, as well as a selection of original songs and contemporary pop songs reworked with a jazz twist.
Jojy’s Magnificent Indian Buffet. Photo: Canberra Southern Cross Club.
Jojy’s Magnificent Indian Buffet
When: Friday 23 August 2024, 6 pm
Where: Canberra Southern Cross Club – Jamison, Cnr Catchpole & Bowman Street
Cost: $59 per person, $39 child 12 years and under. Tickets available here.
Jojy’s Magnificent Indian Buffet is back for another year at Jamison. Join us as Executive Chef Jojy Vattoly prepares an all-you-can-eat feast of traditional and modern Indian Cuisine.
Saturday
Jessika Jamal Khazrik, “ATAMANA”, 7 ch. sound A/V installation. Photograph: Thor Brødreskift.
Live at the NFSA: Hulubalang x Brandon Tay + Jessika Jamal Khazrik
When: 24 August, from 7 pm
Where: Arc Cinema, National Film and Sound Archive, McCoy Circuit, Acton
Cost: Tickets cost $50 and are available from the Film and Sound Archive.
What happens when you bring together artificial intelligence, generative technologies and experimental performance in a live art show? Hulubalang x Brandon Tay and Jessika Jamal Khazrik have been hard at work preparing genre-bending performances. Hulubalang and collaborator Brandon Tay present Bunyi Bunyi Tumbul, have trained a generative AI visualiser on archival imagery in a tribute to the unnamed (and often overlooked) victims of conflict.
The other artist in this show, Jessika Jamal Khazrik, is behind Gebra. For one night only, these shows will explore and challenge archival materials and social histories, inviting audiences into an immersive experience of technical mastery and emotional depth.
Both the men’s and women’s Raiders teams are back home after a week away – and they’re looking for a win. Image: Canberra Raiders.
Canberra Raiders v Penrith Panthers
When: 24 August, from 3 pm
Where: GIO Stadium, Battye Street, Bruce
Cost: General admission tickets cost $35 and are available via Ticketek.
The boys are back in town! And so are the women!
It’s a full day of league at GIO this Saturday with the NRL and NRLW teams taking to the field, as well as Jersey Flegg and NSW Cup matches.
It’ll be a tough assignment when the Green Machine takes on the premiership-contending Panthers while the 8th-placed Raiders face the Cowboys in the NRLW. Lend your support and make some noise!
Baroque-inspired music will once again ring out in this concert. Photo: Snow Concert Hall.
Voices of the Italian Baroque
When: 24 August, from 2:30 pm
Where: Snow Concert Hall, Canberra Grammar School, 40 Monaro Crescent, Red Hill
Cost: Tickets cost between $130.23 and $63.30 (plus purchasing fee) and are available via Eventbrite.
In this concert, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs are time-travelling back to the Baroque era. This program features the Choirs Chamber Singers and an ensemble of period instruments ready to transport you back hundreds of years, all performing under the eye of conductor Brett Weymark. Head along and hear the musicians and singers bring works by Giovanni Gabrieli, Antonio Caldara, Domenico Scarlatti, Claudio Monteverdi and other Italian masters to life.
Sunday
Join former Magistrate Beth Campbell for a presentation at the National Library of Australia. Photo: National Library of Australia.
Winter Tales presents Beth Campbell
When: 25 August, 2 pm to 4 pm
Where: National Library of Australia, Parkes Place West, Parkes
Cost: Tickets cost $20 and are available via StickyTickets.
When she retired in 2023, Beth Campbell had been the longest-serving magistrate in the ACT after being the second woman to be appointed to the ACT judiciary.
In her earlier life, Beth worked as a solicitor for two large national firms and a small legal firm in rural NSW, and she has taught law at Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga and the ANU. This Sunday, she will deliver a presentation for The National Foundation for Australian Women and the Australian Women’s Archives Program (AWAP). Following her retirement from the bench, Ms Campbell was appointed Chair of the newly created ACT Law Reform and Sentencing Advisory Council. An afternoon tea will be served after the presentation.
Monday
A concert has been organised to celebrate the life and work of Larry Sitsky, who has spent almost six decades at the ANU. Photo: Peter Hislop.
Larry Sitsky 90th Birthday Celebration and Concert
When: 26 August, 7 pm to 9 pm
Where: Larry Sitsky Recital Room, ANU School of Music, Australian National University, Building 100, William Herbert Place, Canberra
Cost: Tickets cost $36.38 (plus booking fee) and are available via Humanitix.
To mark the 90th birthday of Dr Larry Sitsky AO, his colleagues and former students gather to celebrate his remarkable legacy as a composer, pianist, scholar, and teacher with nearly 60 years as part of the ANU. This event is presented by the ANU School of Music and The Friends of the School of Music, with the program to include world premieres of some of Larry’s latest miniatures for piano, as well as chamber works from throughout his long career. Emeritus Professor Malcolm Gillies AM will serve as MC in this evening of music and celebration that’s open to all music lovers in Canberra.
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