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

Steph Evans directs the Canberra premiere of Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike, a Tony Award-winning comedy inspired by Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya in which two resigned siblings are thrown into comic turmoil when their glamorous movie-star sister arrives with her much younger companion, unleashing resentments, absurd situations and moments of poignancy. Mockingbird Theatre Company, Belconnen Arts Centre, May 13-23.

Blamey Street Big Band, under Ian McLean, delivers Blamey Swings Rock, where hits by artists such as The Rolling Stones, AC/DC and Elton John are reimagined with swinging brass and powerhouse vocals from guest vocalists Jared Newall, Leisa Keen, Steve Amosa and Ashleigh Harris. The B, Queanbeyan, May 16.

English singer-songwriter Ralph McTell, famous for his 1974 hit song, Streets of London, marks 50 years since his first Australian tour with a farewell return, Somewhere Down the Road. His evening of songs and storytelling will include tales of hitch hiking with Rod Stewart, playing the Isle of Wight Festival alongside Jimi Hendrix and Sly Stone, a crap game with Tom Waits and an impromptu meeting with the President of Ireland. The Street Theatre, May 14.

National Opera unveils its 2026 season blending performances, concerts and special events, including the La Fiamma dell’Opera fundraiser, a June masterclass series and concert, The Dons and The Heroines, alongside intimate Opera in the Drawing Room and Opera Lunch experiences at Lanyon Homestead, all building to Canberra Carols by Candlelight and further events still to be announced. May-December.

Artsense Productions from NZ is bringing in H.R. The Musical, a riotous musical sketch-comedy that takes on the ridiculous and objectionable aspects of the modern workplace in the form of the blues, rap, Latin plain-chant and more. The Q, Queanbeyan, May 12.

A new exhibition by Robbie Howard features quiet landscape paintings capturing the character of familiar places. Born in Goulburn, with deep connections to Collector and the surrounding district, she worked alongside Florence Broadhurst in wallpaper design, interiors and textiles, and co-founded the Lynwood Café in Collector. Q Gallery, Ainslie shops, May 8-21.