Bloomshed is turning Animal Farm into a confetti-soaked political roast at Arts Centre Melbourne
The Green Room award-winning theatre company has built a reputation for turning classic texts into high-energy spectacles, and their take on George Orwell’s famous fable keeps that streak alive. Bloomshed’s Animal Farm transplants the story from its original English setting to rural Australia, where the farm animals have torn up a contract with the government and the messy realities of the political system start to unravel. Expect dance breaks, physical comedy and a whole lot of confetti.
The production centres on a small outback farm where the animals have had enough and are ready to seize the means of production. Leading the charge is Napoleon, a pig with plenty of ambition and zero qualms about cracking a few eggs along the way. It’s part rebellion, part roast of Australian politics, and entirely unsubtle in the best possible way.
Animal Farm
- 12 – 22 August
- Fairfax Studio, Arts Centre Melbourne
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Since launching in 2012, Bloomshed have created 15 new devised and adapted works including Pride & Prejudice and Paradise Lost. The company is built on shared authorship and collective vision, blending high art with cheap thrills to tackle issues like corporate greed, climate change and class inequity.
Their adaptation asks what happens when you map the themes of Orwell’s original — greed, corruption, ambition — onto Australian history and larrikinism. The result is a satirical, politically charged rework that aims to leave audiences feeling ready to storm the barricades, or at least have a good laugh about the state of things.
Creative director James Jackson leads the production, which mixes accessible storytelling with Bloomshed’s signature irreverence. The company has previously picked up Green Room awards for their work, cementing them as one of Melbourne’s sharpest independent theatre outfits.
For more information, head here.
Ben Lee and Georgia Maq team up for eight-date national tour
Dubbed The Two Most Annoying People You Love, the co-headline tour will see both Ben Lee and Georgia Maq share the stage for the full two-hour duration of each show. The format is distinct from a traditional double bill, with both artists on stage together from start to finish rather than performing separate sets.
The pair plan to pull from their respective back catalogues, harmonise on each other’s tracks, tackle covers and road-test new material from upcoming recorded projects.
The Two Most Annoying People You Love tour
- 23 September – Princess Theatre, Brisbane QLD
- 24 September – Melbourne Recital Centre, Melbourne VIC
- 25 September – City Recital Hall, Sydney NSW
- 26 September – Milton Theatre, Milton NSW
- 29 September – The Rechabite, Perth WA
- 30 September – Freo Social, Fremantle WA
- 1 October – Hindley Street Music Hall, Adelaide SA
- 2 October – Canberra Theatre, Canberra ACT
Stay up to date with what’s happening in and around Melbourne here.
Lee launched his career as a teenager in Sydney band Noise Addict in the early 1990s after being picked up by Sonic Youth and the Beastie Boys. He has since released more than 20 solo albums and collaborated with artists ranging from Ben Folds to Margaret Cho across a prolific three-decade career. Maq is the frontperson of Melbourne trio Camp Cope and an established solo artist. The two have previously worked together on the collaborative track Arsehole.
The eight-date run kicks off at Brisbane’s Princess Theatre on 23 September and wraps at Canberra Theatre on 2 October, taking in venues across Melbourne, Sydney, Milton, Perth, Fremantle and Adelaide along the way. A presale begins on 24 June, with general public tickets going on sale the following day at 11am AEST via Ticketmaster. The tour is presented by Craft Music and Select Music.
Both performers have carved out careers defined by independence and unpredictability. Lee’s output has ranged from lo-fi punk to producing a Grammy-award-winning comedy album for Cho to co-writing a children’s musical with American author Tom Robbins. Maq has built a devoted following through Camp Cope and her expanding solo catalogue. The Two Most Annoying People You Love marks the pair’s first dedicated co-headline run.
For more information, head here.
There’s a $30 million park program happening across Melbourne and voting just opened
Good news for anyone who’s ever complained about their local park.
Voting is now open on the second round of Pick My Park, with 124 projects vying for a share of the funding pool. The program covers a wide range of upgrades, spanning brand new urban pocket parks on underutilised land through to playground revamps, outdoor fitness equipment installations and accessibility improvements. Winning projects stand to receive anywhere between $20,000 and $250,000 to get the work done.
The concept is fairly simple. Victorians vote for the park projects they want to see funded, and the most popular entries get the cash. The first round has already delivered close to $18 million to develop 97 parks, playgrounds and gathering spaces across the state, so there’s a solid track record behind the initiative.
Pick My Park
- Voting is open now and closes 3 August 2026
- Nominate up to three favourite projects here
Stay up to date with what’s happening in and around Melbourne here.
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Eligibility for the second round has been extended across metropolitan Melbourne, opening the program up to a broader range of communities than before. Regional Victoria is also part of the equation, with parks across the state being delivered and upgraded through the scheme.
The types of improvements on offer span from entirely new pocket parks carved out of underused lots through to revamped playgrounds, new fitness stations and upgrades designed to make existing spaces more accessible and functional for more people.
Survey responses gathered through the program indicate Victorians are most interested in open spaces that help connect their communities, with accessible and family-friendly features sitting high on the priority list. The funding will go towards both improving existing parks and establishing new urban green spaces by repurposing land that isn’t currently pulling its weight.
Voting runs until 3 August 2026, and participants can browse all 124 projects and select up to three favourites through the Pick My Park website.
For more information, head here.
Winter Wonderlights at Sovereign Hill is chasing one million visitors with its biggest season yet
The annual Ballarat event opens on 26 June and runs through to 19 July, marking 12 years of turning the heritage museum into a glowing winter spectacle. Somewhere during the 2026 season, Winter Wonderlights will tick over its one millionth visitor — a considerable milestone given last year alone attracted more than 96,000 people through the gates.
Leading the new additions is Reflections of Winter, a symphonic installation at the Sovereign Hill dam. The show transforms the water and surrounding trees into the emotional centrepiece of the trail, building from icy stillness into warmth and celebration. It runs every 15 minutes during both standard and late-night windows, with food, drinks and a visit from St Nicholas all on-site at the dam.
Winter Wonderlights
- 26 June to 19 July
- Sovereign Hill, Ballarat
- Day tickets (10am–7pm): adults $77.50, concession $62, children (5–15) $40, family $199
- Night tickets (8pm–10pm): adults $45, concession $35, children $25, family $110
- Children under five enter free
- Evening sessions are sold out
Stay up to date with what’s happening in and around Melbourne here.
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Main Street also gets a fresh light projection this year. Themed around the Industrial Revolution, the display draws on the mechanical innovations of the 19th century and kicks in right after the nightly Wonderlights countdown.
There are three ways to take it all in. Day tickets cover the full stretch from 10am to 7pm, including gold panning, live shows and the complete light trail as the sun sets. Night tickets open up a late session on select dates from 8pm to 10pm, with an exclusive soundscape through the old diggings and a more subdued, grown-up atmosphere. Evening sessions, which ran from 5pm to 7pm, have already sold out.
On the merch front, Sovereign Hill has partnered with Ballarat knitwear outfit Interknit to produce a range of Winter Wonderlights Christmas jumpers, beanies and scarves made from local wool. It marks the first time the event has offered its own branded merchandise.
For more information, head here.
Geelong just opened a $449 million new theatre, convention and events centre
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles and Premier Jacinta Allan officially opened it, marking the arrival of a major new venue for the city.
Inside, there’s a 1,000-seat theatre, exhibition spaces, meeting rooms, conference facilities and flexible event areas to cover everything from big gatherings to smaller sessions. There’s also food and drink offerings and the new Gheringhap Plaza, while the 200-room Crowne Plaza sits next door for anyone staying overnight.
Nyaal Banyul Geelong Convention and Event Centre
- Now open: Nyaal Banyul Geelong Convention and Event Centre, Geelong
- Free Community Open Day: 11 July, Geelong
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The centre starts hosting events from July, with 80 conferences and events already locked in. It’s aimed at drawing national and international visitors to Geelong and delivering economic benefit across the wider region, with events flowing trade through to local hospitality.
On the jobs front, Nyaal Banyul will employ more than 240 people, while over 50 local businesses are already on board supplying food, wine, equipment and event services across the precinct.
Construction created 1,400 jobs along the way, with 250 apprentices clocking up more than 150,000 hours of hands-on training. The building’s design was developed in collaboration with the Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation.
Funding came from $416 million invested by the Victorian government, $30 million from the federal government and $3 million from the City of Greater Geelong, bringing the full project to $449 million.
Keen for a look before the events calendar fills up? There’s a free Community Open Day on 11 July, open to everyone.
For more information, head here.
You can now pay on any Melbourne tram with your bank card
From 21 June, you can step off a train and straight onto a tram using the same card or device, with no separate myki to dig out.
Tap and go now covers both modes after first appearing at every myki-enabled train station across Victoria, which means a single tap can carry you through a full trip and any changeovers in between.
Tap and go rollout
- Trams: tap and go live on every Melbourne tram from 21 June
- Trains: already available at every myki-enabled train station across Victoria
- Payment: pay with a bank card, smartphone or smartwatch
- Buses: myki-enabled bus routes are next in line
- Fares: half-price until the end of the year
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Plenty of commuters have already taken to it. More than 700,000 tap and go trips have been clocked since the start of June, and four in five of those were paid with a phone or smartwatch rather than a physical card. In other words, a lot of Melburnians are leaving the wallet at home and tapping straight through.
The Victorian government has named buses as the next stop for the technology, with the rollout set to reach myki-enabled bus routes. In the meantime, half-price fares are running until the end of the year, which the government says is saving regular commuters hundreds of dollars over that stretch.
A few groups should keep things as they are. Concession passengers, seniors and anyone under 18 should continue using their concession or Youth myki, while travellers heading somewhere myki has not yet reached can stick with a paper ticket or eTicket. Anyone who simply prefers tapping on with a myki can carry on doing exactly that.
For more information, head here.
HUGERNAUT
Hugernaut ooze an emotive, soulful, yet punchy hard hitting and individual expression of their original Alternative Australian Rock. Performing songs from their album Circulator and more.
Music On The Hill (MOTH)
Ernest Aines brings his intimate, poetic live show to MOTH — Music On The Hill — at Red Hill Mechanics Hall on Friday 3 July, joined by special guest Grace Robinson. Expect intricate guitar work, evocative songwriting and a warm listening-room atmosphere on the Mornington Peninsula.
Plaster of Paris
Naarm’s fiercest femme force Plaster of Paris take over The Graveyard in North Coburg on Friday July 3 for a night of glitter, chaos and dancefloor destruction.
The post-punk party starters headline alongside glitter-punk favs Snake Thighs, fresh from supporting Helmet, punk/ska hornbags Roarcuss and psychedelic moon-howlers Looney Moons.
Expect disco beats, razor guitars, sweaty singalongs and unhinged energy from start to finish. Trashy, theatrical and euphoric in all the right ways.
Guy Sebastian: 100 X Around Australia Tour
The tour will see Guy perform some of the biggest songs from across his career, including viral fan favourite Who’s That Girl, Like it Like That, Standing With You, and the ARIA Song of the Year and 4x platinum smash hit Choir. Fans can also expect standout tracks from his latest album, 100 Times Around The Sun, including radio hit and APRA Award-winning Maybe, the anthemic Get It Done, and powerhouse ballad The Keys. Audiences will also be mesmerised by some of Guy’s most beloved hits, including Battle Scars, Before I Go, and many more chart-topping favourites from one of Australia’s most celebrated songwriters and performers.
Guy Sebastian’s recent sold-out national 100 Times Around The Sun Tour was a masterclass in talent, showmanship, musicianship and genuine connection. After four long years away from touring nationally, fans turned out in droves, filling venues across the country to experience Guy Sebastian live in concert — and leaving in awe of the iconic powerhouse performer he is. With flawless vocals, quick wit and undeniable charisma, Guy created an atmosphere that felt both spectacular and deeply personal. Moving on and off the stage throughout the night, he roamed through the crowds, determined to connect with as many fans as possible, making every show feel intimate, unforgettable and uniquely special.
The Syncopators: Tribute to Barber, Ball & Bilk
The Syncopators return to our stage with this exciting tribute to the Three B’s of British jazz!
Get ready to swing and sway as The Syncopators, Melbourne’s internationally acclaimed jazz band, return for a high-energy celebration of British jazz legends.
Honouring the iconic bands of Chris Barber, Kenny Ball and Acker Bilk, this show revisits the music that sparked Britain’s traditional jazz boom in the 1950s – a craze that spread across Europe, Australia and America, topping charts and filling dance halls. Inspired by Australia’s own Graeme Bell, whose early tours to the UK helped lay the foundations of the movement, The Syncopators bring these timeless hits back to life with flair and authenticity.
Now in their 41st year, The Syncopators revive the sounds, style and spirit of the era – complete with pumping rhythms, hand-shaking jazz dances, college haircuts, duffle coats, thin ties and the sports cars of the well-heeled. It’s a musical time machine guaranteed to get your feet tapping and your memories flowing.
Bachelor Girl: Waiting for the Day REDUX TOUR 2026
Tania Doko and James Roche (Bachelor Girl) have revisited the record with new arrangements cinematic textures and electronic flourishes that transform familiar songs and reveal emotional depths previously unheard. Stripped-back moments sit alongside soaring reimaginings giving classic tracks a contemporary adventurous artistic edge.
Behind the music beyond the hits… Tania and James share stories never previously heard from their upcoming release Waiting for the Day: Artist Sessions where some of Australia’s finest contributed and became part of the journey.
A celebration of legacy and reinvention a show for longtime fans and first time listeners alike showcasing Bachelor Girl as you’ve never heard them before — seasoned fearless and full of fresh REDUX fire.
Christine Anu
Christine Anu is one of Australia’s most respected and recognisable artists, known for her powerful voice and message of unity and hope. With a career spanning over 25 years, she has achieved national and international success across music, theatre, film and television.
Best known for her iconic song My Island Home, Christine has become a defining voice in Australian culture. She has performed at historic events such as the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games Closing Ceremony and has starred in productions including Moulin Rouge and The Matrix Reloaded.
In this special performance, Christine brings together her classic repertoire with new material from her latest album Waku, a deeply personal work inspired by her Torres Strait Islander heritage. This is a unique opportunity to experience one of Australia’s most enduring artists live on stage.
Vika & Linda: Where Do You Come From?
The forthcoming album from Vika & Linda, Where Do You Come From? is their most personal and compelling collection yet. To celebrate, they will embark on a nation-wide tour with their band, The Bullettes. Audiences will be treated to songs from the new album together with the songs and stories of their inimitable career.
Vika & Linda are two of Australia’s most celebrated and enduring voices. They captivate audiences with their powerful harmonies and magnetic stage presence. With enduring influence and boundless energy, they remain one of Australia’s most treasured and trailblazing vocal duos.
Macbeth by Bell Shakespeare
Following a bloody battle, Macbeth and his comrade Banquo are met by three Weird Sisters who prophesy Macbeth will one day be king.
Unable to shake the thought, Macbeth tells his wife, Lady Macbeth. Driven by an insatiable hunger for power, posterity and certainty, they commit a murder and set in motion the unravelling of their sanity. With blood on their hands, they face the dire consequences of their despicable actions.
A terrifying portrayal of moral collapse, Peter Evans’ Macbeth, with Anthony Taufa in the title role, will take you on an intense journey into the dark heart of humanity.
Glass Child
Glass Child is a poignantly revealing depiction of the sibling relationship between Kayah, a young man with Down Syndrome and his sister Maitreyah. Expressed through dance, theatre and storytelling Glass Child highlights their connection and how their lives have been affected by other people’s perceptions.
The term ‘Glass Child’ refers to the sibling of someone with special needs who often becomes a facilitator in the family, someone who is “looked through”. Kayah is Maitreyah’s oldest brother & was born with Down Syndrome. Throughout their lives Maitreyah has watched him be left out, ridiculed or ignored without understanding why. Glass Child puts a microscope on their love and how their relationship has grown. It questions how the rest of us behave when we find the difference we inevitably look for. It asks us to examine why we search for difference when we share so much in common.
The sibling relationship is best expressed through the words of the lead performers Maitreyah and Kayah Guenther.
POV by re:group performance collective
Following acclaimed national festival performances including RISING Festival, Adelaide Festival and Perth Festival, we are thrilled to present this unique docudrama performance in 2026.
Enter the mind’s eye of Bub, an 11-year-old girl who’s obsessed with documentary filmmaking. In the aftermath of a family breakdown, she turns to dramatised re-enactments to try to figure out what happened.
In each performance of this latest docudrama experiment from re:group performance collective, two new, unrehearsed adult actors join a young performer onstage. As she guides them to re-enact her personal experiences, these brave (or foolhardy) performers discover the story on the night, negotiating difficult questions about parenting, agency, mental health and how we speak to children.
Bub wants to get to the bottom of her mum’s erratic behaviour. Can these two adults answer the tough questions of a child?
After indie flick (Coil) and sci-fi (UFO), POV is re:group’s playful, urgent and live version of a documentary, blurring the lines between personal history, performance and human connection.
Lior with String Quartet
Experience acclaimed singer-songwriter Lior in an intimate concert backed by string quartet, harking back to the era of traditional salon performances.
Bursting onto the Australian music scene in 2005 with his independent debut Autumn Flow, Lior has since earned multiple awards, ARIA nominations and critical acclaim for his recordings, compositions and collaborations including ‘Compassion’ his symphonic song cycle with composer Nigel Westlake.
Lior is renowned for his beautiful voice and songs that radiate truth and sincerity. This performance offers a rare chance to enjoy his artistry up close and personal.