Here’s arts editor HELEN MUSA’s latest Arts in the City column.

Comedian Wil Anderson returns to Canberra with Whatchu Talkin’ ‘Bout Wil? an improvised stand-up show in which every performance is created on the spot from audience interaction. The Street Theatre, August 5-9.

The Australian National Eisteddfod’s choirs section returns with 35 choirs competing across a range of age groups and categories. Composer, conductor and educator Paul Jarman will adjudicate the performances. Snow Concert Hall, August 8.

Historian Shirleene Robinson has edited The Memory Tapes, a new book drawing on the National Library of Australia’s now-legendary oral history collection. Organised around 16 themes, it features excerpts from interviews with prominent Australians and ordinary citizens alike, ranging from First Nations experiences and migration to sport, science, the arts and life through natural disasters and pandemics.

The National Gallery of Australia’s National Indigenous Art Triennial: After the Rain has opened at Home of the Arts in Surfers Paradise, the first stop on a three-year national tour. Curated by Tony Albert, the exhibition brings together contemporary indigenous art from across the country.

Canberra Symphony Orchestra 2026 Kingsland Fellows, Jessica Hall on trombone, Amanda Tao on flute and Jacob Aziz on violin, together with pianist Hilda Visser-Scott, will perform a lunchtime concert of music by Farrenc, Chaminade, Saint-Saëns and Guilmant. Wesley Music Centre, August 5.

 Love & Forgetting: Tales from a Young Mixer continues its winter season. Devised and performed by Canberra artist Jeremy James and WAAPA graduate Jack Martin, the “cocktail cabaret” blends storytelling, music and drinks in the setting of a working bar. Ambrosia Lounge, Fyshwick, August 7-9.

Recorder duo Robyn Mellor and Rodney Waterman present Woodsong, a program celebrating more than 500 years of recorder music. Performing on at least 10 handcrafted instruments, they move from contemplative love songs and French Baroque dances to contemporary Australian works, African-inspired rhythms and jazz-inflected pieces. Wesley Music Centre, August 1.

News all day, every day at CityNewsQBN.com.au.