Events You Need to Know About This April

This month’s top events, plus a sneak peek at what’s on in May.

VIC

Melbourne International Comedy Festival

Until 22 April | Various venues, Melbourne

Comedians participating in this year’s program include Arj Barker, Celia Pacquola and double act Judith Lucy and Denise Scott.

The Field Revisited

27 April-26 August | National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne

When the NGV moved to its current St Kilda Road premises in 1968, its inaugural exhibition was The Field, which featured 74 works by 40 artists. The gallery is re-creating the display on its 50th anniversary.

Brickman Awesome

Until 29 April | Melbourne Museum Plaza

In this exhibition for lovers of Lego, more than 1.5 million bricks have been used to build 38 models. The standout is the tallest Lego statue in the Southern Hemisphere, a 7.5-metre-high NASA rocket.

La Traviata

17 April-11 May | Arts Centre Melbourne

American soprano Corinne Winters plays courtesan Violetta in this Opera Australia production.

Planet Earth II Live in Concert

29 April | Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre

The BBC Earth series gets the live treatment, with footage projected onto a large screen while Eric Bana narrates and the Melbourne Pops Orchestra performs the score.

Next Month: The Wizard of Oz

15 May-1 July | Regent Theatre, Melbourne

Anthony Warlow is the Wizard in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical featuring classic and new songs.

NSW

Sydney Comedy Festival

23 April-20 May | Various venues, Sydney

Michael Che, co-head writer of Saturday Night Live and co-anchor of its Weekend Update segment, headlines a program that includes shows by Shawn Wayans, Cal Wilson, Fiona O’Loughlin and Luke Heggie, who won the Comics’ Choice Award at the 2017 Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

Musical Mamma Mia!

Until 6 Ma y | Capitol Theatre, Sydney

It’s the last chance for Sydneysiders to say “I do, I do, I do” to the ABBA musical before it heads to Perth, Melbourne and Adelaide.

Orange F.O.O.D Week

6-15April | Various venues, Orange

Regional Australia’s longest-running food festival features signature events such as the Autumn Grazing Dinner and Forage, a 4.1-kilometre scenic vineyard walk with a nine-course dégustation. There’s also the more relaxed Night Market where the region’s chefs, cooks and winemakers gather.

Murphy

6-23 April | Sydney Opera House

This performance by The Australian Ballet is a tribute to choreographer Graeme Murphy’s 50-year tenure at the company, from his early days in the corps de ballet to his vividly reimagined Firebird.

A-League Finals Series

Finals from 20 April | Allianz Stadium, Sydney

The fierce competition that will culminate in the crowning of the 2018 A-League champion kicks off this month. Teams from Sydney, Melbourne and Newcastle will do battle, with Sydney FC fighting for a record fourth flag.

Next Month: Vivid Sydney

25 May-16 June | Various venues, Sydney

Sydney is transformed when this festival of light, music and ideas takes over its landmarks and skies, attracting locals and visitors to the city and harbour foreshores to enjoy the spectacle. Be sure to visit The Royal Botanic Garden, where plants, rock walls and century-old fig trees are used as organic canvases.

ACT

Anzac Day

25 April | Australian War Memorial, Canberra

This year’s Anzac Day ceremonies commemorate the landing in Gallipoli 103 years ago and honour all those who have served, starting with the reading aloud of excerpts from the letters and diaries of Australians who experienced war firsthand.

Antony and Cleopatra

12-21 April | Canberra Theatre Centre

Catherine McClements and Johnny Carr star as the most famous couple in history in this Bell Shakespeare production of the Bard’s tragedy directed by Peter Evans.

SA

Seal

10 April | Adelaide Convention Centre

English singer-songwriter Seal and his orchestra make a stop in Adelaide on his Australian tour, performing tracks from his new album, Standards, plus the hits that made him a star.

Groovin the Moo

27 April | Adelaide Showground, Wayville

Paul Kelly, Vera Blue and British duo Royal Blood kickstart this music festival in Adelaide before it travels to five regional centres.

Next Month: Anh Do

31 May-1 June | Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide

The Vietnamese-born Australian comedian, artist and bestselling author brings his sellout show, The Happiest Refugee Live, to Adelaide.

WA

The Cunning Little Vixen

21-28 April | His Majesty’s Theatre, Perth

Czech composer Leoš Janáček’s rarely heard score transports you to the world of the vixen Sharp Ears in this beautifully tragic examination of the circle of life.

Harlem Globetrotters

22 April | Perth Arena

The world-famous exhibition team take their Amazing Feats of Basketball Tour around Australia this month. From trick shots and slam dunks to newly incorporated four-pointers and other court theatrics, they put on a show that leaves audiences awe-struck.

Next Month: In Dreams: Roy Orbison in Concert

11 May | Perth Arena

A full symphony orchestra and a hologram of rock ‘n’ roll icon Roy Orbison are the stars of this show, with classics such as Crying and Oh, Pretty Woman on the set list.

QLD

Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games

4-15 April | Various venues, Gold Coast

About 6600 athletes from the Commonwealth nations converge on the Gold Coast for 11 days of hard-fought competition.

WOW: Women of the World Festival

6-8 April | Brisbane Powerhouse

As part of the cultural program for the Commonwealth Games, this weekend event celebrates women with panel discussions, workshops, exhibitions and performances.

The Killers

27 April | Brisbane Entertainment Centre

The American rockers are coming out of their cage and they’ll be doing just fine in Brisbane at the start of their Australian tour.

Next Month: Barry Humphries: The Man Behind the Mask

10 May | QPAC, Brisbane

The Aussie expat returns with a confessional evenin of stories about his colourful life and six-decade theatrical career.

NT

Tjungu Festival

26-29 April | Ayers Rock Resort

Celebrating Australian Indigenous culture, this year’s “coming together” is headlined by country musician Troy Cassar-Daley, model Samantha Harris, AFL legend Nicky Winmar and chef Mark Olive.

Next Month: Northern Territory Travelling Film Festival

21 May-9 June | Various venues, Northern Territory

This inaugural festival transforms some of Australia’s most remote and spectacular landscapes – including the Nitmiluk and Kakadu national parks – into open-air cinemas, screening shorts by Northern Territory filmmakers.

TAS

Lano & Woodley

28-30 April | Theatre Royal, Hobart

More than a decade after bidding Australian audiences farewell, comedy duo Colin Lane and Frank Woodley reunite to present their new show, Fly.

Targa Tasmania

16-21 April | Various locations, Tasmania

The country’s best tarmac rally racers cover more than 2000 kilometres of the island state over six days.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

21 April | Federation Concert Hall, Hobart

Hear German composer Felix Mendelssohn’s whimsical score for Shakespeare’s comedy, with Howard Shelley doing double duty as conductor and soloist.

Next month George’s Marvellous Medicine

31 May-2 June | Theatre Royal, Hobart

This hour-long stage adaptation of Roald Dahl’s beloved book will appeal to families with children aged six years or over.

Top image: The Wizard of Oz/Jeff Busby