1. Are We There Yet?
This play by Finegan Kruckemeyer is based on the book by Alison Lester. Join Grace, who is eight, and her family on their adventurous and often funny expedition around Australia with songs, fun, (and quokkas!) for children aged from three to 10 and their adults. From the team behind The Gruffalo and Treehouse stage adaptations, this is a celebration of family, love, and the diversity and beauty of Australia. It's on at the Playhouse, Canberra Theatre Centre on Saturday, July 22 at 10am, noon and 3pm. See: canberratheatrecentre.com.au.
2. The Michelle Nicolle Quartet:
The quartet will perform new music from their Bach Project on Friday, July 21 at 7.30pm. Together for 24 years, the quartet have a highly developed sense of the musical possibilities and now have taken on J.S. Bach. Marrying the worlds of classical and jazz with their trademark wit and flair and capturing Bach's improvisational spirit, the quartet take the majesty and formal brilliance of his music on a journey creating new sonic outcomes.
3. Funkaars
Performing on Saturday, July 22 at 7.30pm, Funkaars takes audiences on a journey through the Indian sub continent with every song. The newly formed seven-piece Canberra band led by Mumbai-born Karisha Shah perform original songs sung in the styles of poetic Ghazals and melodic Hindustani vocal music Bandish with vocals in Indian and English. They're playing a variety of instruments from dobro to saxophone to tabla to curate an expressive sound world and create a fusion of East and West. See: thestreet.org.au.
4. Yuldea
Frances Rings' first work as artistic director of Bangarra Dance Theatre is a ceremonial affirmation of history and heritage. Yuldea awakens the earth and sky worlds to tell the story of the Aangu people of the Great Victorian Desert. It explores the moment traditional life collided with industrial ambition. In 1917, the two halves of the Transcontinental Railway met at the precious water soak on the edge of the Nullarbor, Yuldi Kapi. Great metal serpents scarred the landscape, draining all water from the sacred soak. Then the black mist of atomic testing at Maralinga forced the Aangu people to leave their desert homelands where they'd lived for millennia. But the Aangu endure. Yuldea is at Canberra Theatre, various times from July 20 to 22, 2023. See: canberratheatrecentre.com.au.
5. Royale With Cheese
Are you feeling nostalgic for the 1990s? Australia's ultimate 1990s rock show Royale With Cheese returns to The Basement on Saturday July 22, 2023 at 7pm. There will be covers of songs by bands from various countries and styles, from Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden, Radiohead, Blur, Oasis, Silverchair, You Am I and Screaming Jets to the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Green Day and Blink 182. Tickets, if still available, will be $51 at the door. See: royalewithcheese.net.au.
