Arts editor HELEN MUSA’s latest Arts in the City column has news of a Canberra-raised actor performing in a play on Broadway.

Canberra-raised actor Lucy Taylor is appearing on Broadway in New York in Punch, a new play by Nottinghamshire playwright James Graham, whose Sherwood recently aired on ABC TV.

The play follows Jacob, who after a night of drinking and drugs, lashes out at a stranger who later dies from his injuries.

Taylor plays his fragile mother and also doubles as a parole officer as both families are drawn into Britain’s restorative justice system.

DroneArt Show arrives in Canberra for two over-the-top nights. Expect a string quartet playing Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake while synchronised drones light up the sky. Exhibition Park, October 31 and November 1.

Director Lee Lewis is staging a commissioned play, The Royal Experiment. The script by former Canberra broadcaster Melanie Tait, famous for The Queen’s Nanny and The Appleton Ladies’ Potato Race. It’s billed as a fast-paced, time-travelling comedy exploring how women’s knowledge of smallpox prevention was ignored and stolen for centuries. National Institute of Dramatic Art, Sydney, November 3-13.

Marking 10 years since the release of Anachronisms, composer and 2019 CityNews Artist of the Year Michael Dooley presents Anachronisms Revisited: A Classical Journey from Baroque to Tango, performed by a star line-up of Canberra-trained musicians, including Andrew Rumsey, Aaron Chew, Anthony Smith, Emily Leong, Jennifer Hou, Dooley and The Grevillea String Quartet. The proceeds will support a school project for children in Nigeria. Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture, Barton, November 1.

The 45th Yarralumla Arts and Crafts Show offers local art, handmade wares and entertainment by choirs and musicians, including Andante Andante Choir, Lady’s Mantle, Canberra Men’s Choir, Dante Musica Viva and Ian Le. Yarralumla Uniting Church Centre, October 31-November 2.

The Australian Haydn Ensemble brings Beethoven, Boccherini and Mozart to life on period instruments in historic chamber arrangements of works including Beethoven’s Eighth Symphony Gandel Hall, National Gallery of Australia, October 30.

The Japanese Film Festival returns for its 29th year with a line-up of dramas, thrillers, anime and literary adaptations, opening with Kokuhō, Japan’s 2026 Academy Award submission. Palace Electric & NFSA, Canberra, October 27-November 18.

Musica da Camera presents an adventurous program featuring Othmar Schoeck’s Sommernacht, Chris Sainsbury’s Guwara and Christine Draeger’s Three Dances for Imaginary Animals. Draeger also appears as soloist, with the concert culminating in Honegger’s wartime Symphony No. 2. Holy Covenant Church, Cook, November 1 and St Mary’s Hall, Bungendore, November 2.