Your ultimate Melbourne events guide: the best things to do this weekend and what’s on through December
StageA Christmas Carol – David Wenham stars as Scrooge
Until 29 December at Comedy Theatre
Far from the cheery yuletide fable we’ve grown accustomed to, Dickens’ story of Ebenezer Scrooge and those ghosts of moral reckoning who visit him on Christmas Eve has, like his Oliver Twist, a social polemic smuggled inside it. The injustice of the British class system gets a bit of the spotlight in Jack Thorne’s Tony-winning stage adaptation, starring David Wenham as the miserable miser, who himself gets more of a personal backstory to explain why he is such a, well, Scrooge.
Tickets from $79.90
Your ultimate Sydney events guide: the best things to do this weekend, and what’s on through December
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Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat – biblical musical returns
Until 15 January at Regent Theatre
It might seem unlikely now, but there was a time when the Bible was considered a central inspiration for musical theatre. While Stephen Schwartz was turning the gospel of Matthew into Godspell, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice were making hay with this story of the banished brother and his beloved coat of many colours. Euan Fistrovic Doidge plays the central role, famously played on the West End by Jason Donovan, and renowned recording artist Paulini plays the narrator. We called the show both “incredibly daggy” and “endearingly honest and entertaining”.
Tickets from $79
Hamilton – catch the revolutionary musical before it leaves town
Until 15 January at Her Majesty’s theatre
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical about US founding father Alexander Hamilton pushes the boundaries of historical narratives, politics and cultural education, with Miranda using African American culture – hip-hop, jazz and R&B – to tell a historically white story. Hamilton is captivating from start to finish – challenging, devastating and inspiring all at once.
Tickets from $70
The Australian cast of Hamilton perform during a media event at Her Majesty’s theatre in Melbourne, 22 March 2022. Photograph: James Ross/EPA
Live music
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Donny Benét NYE – with Our Carlson and Delivery
31 December at the Corner Hotel
‘Prepare to dance’: Donny Benét. Photograph: Wesley Nel
What better way to ring in the new year than with everyone’s favourite Italo-lothario-moustachio’d disco-groover-on-a-budget Donny Benét? The cult persona of Sydney’s Ben Waples, Benét – a self-described “adult entertainer” – has been bringing his incredible outfits, vintage gear and late 70s/early 80s disco pastiche to clubs since the 2010s. Expect bass slaps, cheesy romancing, intoxicating grooves and a world class show band, with support from Our Carlson and Delivery. Prepare to dance.
Tickets are $67
Parties & festivals
Taylor Swift & Harry Styles pop Christmas Party – all killer no filler
23 December at the Prince Bandroom
This pop music dance party takes place the night before the night before Christmas, which means you have a whole day to recover before family duties take over. They’ll be playing Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, and a bunch of other pop songs and Christmas songs, and maybe some pop Christmas songs too (read: Mariah). If you’ve not yet danced to Karma in a room full of people: ‘tis the damn season.
Tickets from $14.30
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All you want for Christmas: a Taylor Swift and Harry Styles dance party. Photograph: Caitlin Ochs/Reuters
Moonlight Cinema – starry, starry movie nights
Until March, Royal Botanic Gardens
Watching screen stars under the stars is the stuff of the Australian summer, and Moonlight Cinema is back with an (almost-nightly) program of new blockbusters and retro favourites. Marvel’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Steven Spielberg’s coming-of-age drama The Fabelmans is screening alongside comedic foodie thriller The Menu and Christmas favourites such as Elf, Love Actually and Home Alone. We’ll be shaking out the picnic rug for Blueback, a feature film adaptation of Tim Winton’s novella. Pet pooches are also invited, with plush bean beds and canine movie snacks available for purchase.
Tickets from $25+bf
Falls festival – HNY with Arctic Monkeys and Lil Nas X
29 – 31 December at Sidney Myer Music Bowl
Falls festival makes its long-awaited return after a two-year hiatus due to Covid – but Victoria’s concert has been moved from Lorne to Birregurra and then finally to Melbourne’s Sidney Myer Music Bowl after a fight over locations. The chaos hasn’t affected the star power, however: Arctic Monkeys, Lil Nas X, Peggy Gou, Chvrches, Ocean Alley, Jamie xx, Spacey Jane, Genesis Owusu, the OG Wiggles, King Stingray …
Tickets are $399.67 for three days, $203.37 for single day
Visual arts & family-friendly
Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, Muse – enormous exhibition for fashion genius
From 11 December at National Gallery of Victoria
Alexander McQueen once said: “If you want to know me, just look at my work.” With 120 pieces and more than 80 artworks going on display at the NGV’s new show, you’ll never be better placed to understand the mind of the late fashion designer, who died in 2010. The NGV has been acquiring McQueen’s provocative and technically astounding designs since 1995, just three years after he founded his label in London. This promises to be a showstopper – dress to the nines for this one.
Tickets are $30
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How I See It: Blak Art and Film – alternative realities from First Nations creatives
From 16 December at Acmi
Come for the air conditioning, stay for the exhibition. Acmi’s summer program interrogates how First Peoples have been historically represented on our screens, with eight Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander creatives using installation, documentary, photography and video games to dream up new futures. In addition, there will be screenings of films from the US, the Philippines and Senegal that explore cultural identity; a one-off music video-inspired dance workshop led by choreographer Amrita Hepi (for $25 you can learn how to move like Rihanna and Beyoncé); and an art workshop run by the team behind Australia’s first Aboriginal-led video game, Future Folklore.
Free entry
Feast by Polyglot Theatre – make mud pies at MPavilion
21 – 22 December at MPavilion, Queen Victoria Gardens
The temporary space MPavilion is back in Queen Victoria Gardens with a whole five months of events planned, but this looks like a real standout for families. Run by Polyglot Theatre, a Melbourne company that specialises in arts experiences for children, Feast is a chance for kids to create dishes using arts and crafts, with fully dressed waiters on hand to serve up a truly mad meal. Children will be able to make “truly delicious, and sometimes really horrible, culinary creations”, they promise – can they do one for adults too?
Tickets are free; you are encouraged to register beforehand however.