Events You Need to Know About this April 2019
All the top events across Australia in April 2019.
VIC
Visions of Paradise
Until 28 April | National Gallery of Victoria
Be transported to the princely courts of the Maharaja and Maharana of Rajasthan as you marvel at the more than 270 paintings depicting their ornate palaces and lavish lives.
Men’s Championship Tour
17-27 April | Bells Beach, Victoria
Head to this famous break, just out of Torquay, to see the world’s best surfers take on gnarly waves over 11 epic days.
West Side Story
6-28 April | Arts Centre Melbourne
The Broadway classic comes to Melbourne in a production that combines brand-new stagingwith Jerome Robbins’ original 1957 choreography.
Earthlight: Lunar Hub
Until 28 April | Scienceworks, Spotswood
Take one giant leap for mankind with a virtual-reality experience that simulates walking on the moon. Be sure to see the Museum of the Moon’s seven-metre-wide spherical sculpture featuring NASA imagery of the lunar surface.
Sidney Nolan’s Ned Kelly Series
Until 26 May | Geelong Gallery
For the first time in 15 years, the artist’s best-known works are touring the nation. Catch the collection while it’s in Geelong.
NSW
Sydney Royal Easter Show
12-23 April | Sydney Olympic Park
Homebush swaps sports fixtures for show bags, livestock and excited children as this Easter institution rolls into town for 12 days of holiday fun.
Sydney Comedy Festival
22 April-19 May | Various venues, Sydney
The who’s who of comedy will flock to Sydney for a month of laughs, with punchlines by Dave Hughes, Cal Wilson, Stephen K. Amos, David O’Doherty and more.
Saturday Night Fever
Until 26 May | Sydney Lyric
Everyone in the Harbour City will have night fever when the musical, featuring music by the Bee Gees and based on the 1977 film that made John Travolta a star, plays exclusively in Sydney.
Verve
5-25 April | Sydney Opera House
In a triple bill packed with show-stopping talent, The Australian Ballet presents contemporary works by prominent homegrown choreographers Stephen Baynes, Alice Topp and Tim Harbour.
Plants with Bite
Until 23 April | The Royal Botanic Garden Sydney
Take a cautious close-up look at carnivorous plants that lure and trap their insect prey at this botanical bonanza. Try the hands-on activities if you dare.
ACT
Anzac Day
25 April | Australian War Memorial, Campbell
Honour Australia and New Zealand’s servicemen and women at the Australian War Memorial’s Dawn Service, the National Ceremony and The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commemorative Ceremony in Canberra.
The Miser
11-20 April | Canberra Theatre Centre
See acclaimed actor John Bell of the Bell Shakespeare company tread the boards as the wealthy penny pincher Harpagon in this adaptation of French playwright Molière’s 1668 work of comedic genius, directed by Peter Evans.
SA
Quilty
Until 2 June | Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide
He won the Archibald Prize in 2011, documented conflict in Afghanistan as an official war artist and is now one of Australia’s most acclaimed modern-day painters. This collection of Ben Quilty’s dynamic works is the first major retrospective of his career.
Aladdin the Musical
From 6 April | Adelaide Festival Centre
Aladdin, Princess Jasmine and Genie will end their magic carpet ride around the country with a season in Adelaide.
WA
Field of Light: Avenue of Honour
Until 28 April | Albany Heritage Park
Resembling a field of glowing flowers, this installation of 16,000 illuminated glass spheres by artist Bruce Munro pays tribute to the troops who departed from Albany during World War I.
Ancient Rome: The Empire That Shaped the World
13 April-21 July | Museum of the Great Southern, Albany
Imagine life in ancient Rome in this interactive exhibit of tools, tech and machinery recreated with the same methods that were used thousands of years ago.
Opera in The Pinnacles
27 April | The Pinnacles, Cervantes
Collect your jaw from the floor as the West Australian Opera performs against a spectacular backdrop: The Pinnacles in Nambung National Park.
QLD
Six Day Series
12-14 April | Anna Meares Velodrome, Chandler
Catch the two-wheeled action trackside as the cycling event peddles its way to Brisbane for the final, following meets in Berlin, Copenhagen, Melbourne, Hong Kong and Manchester.
Human Nature
26 April; 27 April | Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre; Brisbane Entertainment Centre
Celebrating three decades of making music together, the quartet kicks off a nationwide tour to support the band’s 13th studio album, Romance of the Jukebox.
Gold Coast Film Festival
3-14 April | Various venues, Gold Coast
Head to the Goldie for exclusive film screenings, movie location tours and the presentation of the prestigious Chauvel Award in the festival’s 17th year.
NT
Parrtjima
5-14 April | Alice Springs
As night falls, the MacDonnell Ranges become a dramatic gallery for artists from nearby Indigenous nations, with their works projected across the rugged landscape.
TAS
Norah Jones
17 April | Federation Concert Hall, Hobart
The Grammy Award-winning artist is heading to Hobart for one night only. Expect to hear her latest single, Wintertime, and other hits.
Targa Tasmania
29 April-4 May | Statewide, Tasmania
Feel the need for speed? Look no further than the highways and byways of the island state as Targa rally drivers race for the chequered flag in the contest’s 28th year.
International Mural Festival
21-27 April | Sheffield
Imaginative artists from around the world paint the north-western town of Sheffield in an annual celebration that covers the walls of the “Town of Murals” with colour.
