Here’s arts editor HELEN MUSA’s latest Arts in the City column of news and performances. 

Sjaella, a brilliant a cappella group of six young women from Leipzig who’ve just been on concert tours to South Africa, Belgium, Spain and Norway, will be here to perform a repertoire that includes works by Henry Purcell, David Lang, Meredi Arakelian and themselves. Snow Concert Hall, July 23. 

After a two-week drought, there’s another spectacular theatrical traffic jam coming up in Canberra: 

• The play 21 Hearts: Vivian Bullwinkel and The Nurses of the Vyner Brooke will be the first live production for the Australian War Memorial’s new theatre, July 23-August 3. 
• Chaika Theatre presents the first Shakespeare production at ACT Hub in Kingston with Julius Caesar, directed by Caitlin Baker, July 23-August 2. 
• And Agatha Christie’s Spider’s Web, directed by Ylaria Rogers, will be at Canberra Rep Theatre, July 24-August 9. 
• Enron, “a rollicking business thriller,” at The Mill Theatre July 23-August 9.
• The Fold, a full-length contemporary dance work by The Training Ground, Erindale Theatre, July 25-26.
• Bangarra Dance Theatre’s Illume, Canberra Theatre July 25-26.
• Iranian-born playwright Nassim Soleimanpour’s ECHO, (Every Cold-Hearted Oxygen) a lone performer opens a sealed envelope with the script in it, makes its debut at The Playhouse, July 24-26.

Co-founders of Rebus Theatre, Robin Davidson and Ben Drysdale, have stepped down from the company they established in 2014 in Canberra with the aim of using theatre to promote disability awareness and address social issues. They quickly became known for their edgy interactive sessions often involving scientists and for providing paid performance opportunities for actors with disabilities. Lucien Simon now takes over the thriving company as CEO.

The Scandinavian Film Festival is back with a provocative selection from Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark and Iceland. The centrepiece is 2025 Cannes Grand Prix winner, Sentimental Value, a Norwegian spy drama depicting the true story of a man drawn into the resistance movement during World War II. Palace Electric, until August 10.

Gareth Carr’s new post-apocalyptic thriller movie, Life After Man, is already shot and edited. With half the cast hailing from the ACT and much of it filmed in Canberra, the feature includes one of the final screen performances of the late theatre and film personality Uncle Jack Charles. Now Carr is running a campaign at kickstarter.com to complete post-production.

Musica Viva has historical clarinettist Nicola Boud, associate principal cellist with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra Simon Cobcroft and artistic director of Pinchgut Opera Erin Helyard on fortepiano exploring the sounds of 18th-century Vienna, giving audiences the chance to listen to Mozart as if for the first time. Llewellyn Hall, July 26.