Out of juice: theatre on tiny margins as costs soar
The theatre industry wants help to cope with soaring costs that have meant curtains even for certified hits such as Beetlejuice the Musical.
Arts & Entertainment
Canberra’s best coverage of local arts news plus reviews, including dining, film, theatre, music, visual arts and dance
The National Museum's winter blockbuster, simply titled Antarctica, promises to take visitors on a journey into a stage set for adventure, reports HELEN MUSA.
"The National Gallery is offering a rare opportunity to see the complete cycle of 20 monumental tapestries about St Francis by Arthur Boyd. But aficionados may be shocked at Boyd's take on the gentle saint," says HELEN MUSA.
KERRY-ANNE COUSINS reviews contrasting ceramic works (Un)-Common Ground by Paul Davis and Jacqueline Clayton, the two 2026 artists-in-residence at Canberra Potters.
Musical Theatre
Middle-raged, Queenie’s ready to sing about it
Middle Raged – A Musical Meltdown, about to premiere at The Playhouse, is the brainchild of two former Canberrans, performer Queenie van de Zandt and writer-producer Tiffany Noack, reports arts editor HELEN MUSA.
Music
The Prophet reaches for vision but lacks cohesion
Arts editor HELEN MUSA reviews Judith Clingan's song cycle, The Prophet - as part of the second half of Wayfarers Australia's concert Musica Vitae - which, based on Kahlil Gibran's famous 1923 work, is "not one of Clingan’s finer works".
Music
Contemporary works reward Chorale’s bold vision
NICK HORN reviews the Canberra Community Chorale's Australian premiere performances of three substantial contemporary choral works, directed by Olivia Swift, that demonstrated both "enjoyment and energy" through its performance.
Here's the latest Arts in the City column from CityNews arts editor HELEN MUSA.
HELEN MUSA reviews Eternal Light, a performance of sacred music by The Resonants vocal ensemble.
LEN POWER reviews Time and Its Passing, a performance by Canberra Qwire.
"In its new form, Cape Fear feels its most intriguing and most clever yet," writes streaming columnist NICK OVERALL of the twist in the latest remake of an old story.
Blues troubadour and folk musician Archer Shepherd, simply known as Archer, is due to descend on Belconnen Arts Centre in early July with a 28-strong brass band, reports arts editor HELEN MUSA.
The Broadway adaptation of Beetlejuice has been axed midway through an Australian tour with rising costs to blame.
An unknown Mozart manuscript is hailed as one of the most significant discoveries of recent decades.
More than two decades after the last instalment, the Austin Powers franchise is set for a comeback after its creator confirmed a fourth film is in development.
Arts editor HELEN MUSA writes about the inaugural Winter in the Woods festival that will run at the National Arboretum from June to August, complete with ”firelight, food and forest adventure”.
Directed by Lee Lewis and being performed at Canberra Theatre, Robert Harling's Steel Magnolias has a "zippy script, full of scintillating one-liners", guaranteeing "a ripping night", writes arts editor HELEN MUSA.
JOE WOODWARD reviews Patrick Vermillion's black comedy The Good Boy Game directed by Caitlin Baker and being performed at The Q.
"The Vape Lord of Queanbeyan, reads like the rantings of a lunatic, like prophecy, like poetry, like messages passed between the cells of some imaginary jail. There really isn't another book like it," writes JUDITH NANGALA CRISPIN.
