Things to do in Melbourne this weekend

It's officially that time of year again when the Moonlight Cinema returns to Melbourne for the summer. There's just something special about snuggling into a bean bag and catching a film under the stars in the Royal Botanic Gardens – with an ice cream or wine in hand, of course.  Australia's favourite outdoor cinema has dropped its summer screening schedule, with blockbusters, nostalgic favourites and comedies on the program. Highlights include Gladiator II, The Substance, Better Man, A Complete Unknown and Wicked (and yes, there's even a sing-along session). Starting from February 11 to coincide with Valentine's Day, there will be a string of romcoms that are guaranteed to warm your heart. Grab your beloved or your bestie and catch everything from classics like Notting Hill and The Notebook to new releases We Live in Time and Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy.  Those looking to splurge can opt for either the Platinum Experience, which includes a deluxe double bean bed (including a blanket you can take home!) for two with waiter service or the Singapore Airlines Gold Grass, with a prime position in front of the screen and an exclusive menu of delicious treats. The Official Aperol Spritz Bar is also returning, so you can sip on that iconic orange cocktail all summer long. Screenings kick off at sundown and even your pooch is welcome. Tickets are now available via the website. Want more fun in the sun? Here are the best things to do in Melbourne this December.

Midsumma Festival, one of Melbourne’s most loved celebrations of LGBTQIA+ communities, is returning once more in 2025 with an electric three week-long party. The festival explores and platforms queer culture, amplifying marginalised voices through visual arts, theatre, film, cabaret and much more.  From January 19 to February 9, Melbourne will come alive with around 200 performances and events held across the city, all responding to this year’s theme of ‘collective identity(s). Highlights of the 2025 program include Thirty-Six at Fortyfivedownstairs, Truth to Power Café at Theatre Works and Feeling Afraid as if Something Terrible is Going to Happen at Arts Centre Melbourne. Browse the full program here.  It all kicks off when the free Midsumma Carnival opens the festival on Sunday, January 19. Alexandra Gardens will play host to all sorts of performances, lip sync extravaganzas, a dog show, food stalls, pop-up bars and more. As the sun goes down, DJs will take over the entertainment stages to turn the carnival into one massive dance party.  Then, the signature Midsumma Pride March is happening on Sunday, February 2, which will see tens of thousands of marchers and onlookers gather in St Kilda in support of LGBTIQA+ communities. The parade, which runs through Fitzroy Street and Catani Gardens, celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. Closing out the festival is Victoria’s Pride, a massive, glitterific street party that will transform Fitzroy’s Gertrude and Smith Street...

From the story’s origins hundreds of years ago, to its transformation into the classic 1991 Disney film, Beauty and the Beast really is a tale as old as time. In its musical form, the production hasn’t been seen in Melbourne since the ’90s, when Hugh Jackman famously performed as Gaston in his first professional role. Fast forward three decades and we’re once again seeing a Melbourne stage transformed into the provincial town and Baroque castle we know so well. Only this time round, the lavish set design is augmented with cleverly integrated digital screens. It’s just one of several updates that ensure this reimagined production of the beloved fairytale keeps up with the times. From the moment the curtain rises, it’s clear this is a large-scale musical with all the belles, whistles and big bucks. Visual splendour is the MO here – think kaleidoscopic costumes, gasp-inducing illusions and spectacular lighting – and it’s easy to see why this show broke box office records at Brisbane’s QPAC.  However, all that Disney investment would be useless without the gifted cast. Shubshri Kandiah exudes whimsy-with-a-backbone as bookworm Belle, charming us with her sweet songs and sassy moments – though the folks in her provincial town just don’t get it.  Brendan Xavier’s beast is alternately ferocious and boyish. His startled squeals and hair-twirling moments help make Belle’s dramatic change in feelings a touch more believable. Both leads shine in their solo numbers, with Xavier’s ‘If...

Hold onto your eyeballs – Scienceworks is hosting the latest edition of its captivating Dome Under Film Festival this summer. For the fifth consecutive year, the festival will showcase new release fulldome films from around the world across. The program spans three days, from January 31 until February 2. Wondering what on earth a ‘fulldome film' is? Naturally, it’s a film that’s been specifically made to be screened on a planetarium’s huge domed ceiling. The Melbourne Planetarium dome stretches an impressive 16 metres with a state-of-the-art surround sound system, creating an AR-like experience. Now you know!  The festival is the only one of its kind in Australia and the 32 films featured promise to be the cream of the crop, hailing from 15 countries. The weekend will be split into multiple themed sessions including ‘astronomy’, ‘mind blowing art’, ‘future visions’ and ‘family’.  Tickets are $20 per session for adults, $17 for concession, $12 for children and $10-15 for members. Find out more and get tickets here. Looking for more things to do in Melbourne? Here's our guide to what's on right now.

Arrive at the corner of Flinders Lane and Hosier Lane on pretty much any day of the week and you’ll run into a throng of tourists jostling to get ‘the shot’ of Melbourne’s ever-evolving street art hotspot. No two visits to this spray can alley are ever the same, but from December 12 there’ll be another more stable artistic delight to enjoy on the famous corner. To those in the know, Sandra Powell and Andrew King have become shining lights of the Aussie street art scene, known for supporting up-and-coming artists through acquisitions for their extensive private collection 15 years in the making.  Street art legend Rone says the pair, often known as ‘Sandrew’, have been “champions of Melbourne’s street art community for over a decade”. Now, they’re drawing on their personal collection to create a ripper of a free exhibition, running from December 12 until May 2025 at 167 Flinders Lane (right on the aforementioned iconic corner).  The Outsiders Melbourne will feature more than 100 works from Sandrew’s collection, including art never before displayed in public. Expect gems from local names like Rone, Adnate, Sofles, Vexta, Fintan Magee, Meggs, Kaff-eine and more.  On the international side, feast your eyes on art from Barry McGee, Vhils, Swoon, Invader, Shepard Fairey, Ron English, Elle and an entire room dedicated to Banksy himself. Fans of the mystery artist will be pleased to know that this exhibition will also see his new work ‘Firework’ on display in Australia for the...

Depending on who you ask, Evan Hansen, the neurotic heart of Benj Pasek and Justin Paul’s 2015 smash-hit musical Dear Evan Hansen, is either a manipulative megalomaniac or a stumbling spokesperson for mental health with the edgy appeal of an anti-hero. Following nine years as the go-to for theatre kids looking for an easy Halloween costume – chuck on a blue-striped polo and an arm cast – the divisive teen arrives at Melbourne’s Arts Centre in a beautiful production of an imperfect show. A stellar cast backed by creative technical design lands every tear-jerking ballad and pop-rock anthem with a skill sure to both thrill long-time fans and convert newcomers. But the elephant in the room is Evan (Beau Woodbridge), or rather it’s the show’s tonal problem that he represents. It’s a macabre story. Evan is that brand of socially anxious and self-deprecating anyone who grew up on Tumblr will immediately recognise. On the first day of his senior year he has an affirming letter he wrote to himself at the direction of his therapist stolen by resident high school loner with an incel vibe, Connor Murphy (Harry Targett). When Connor takes his own life soon after, the letter is found in his pocket, leading his family to believe that Evan was his friend. Cornered by the grief-stricken Murphys and craving connection, Evan leans into the lie. It's all very morally dubious, and the show works best when it leans into the darker, more cynical themes raised by Evan’s deceit. ‘Sincerely, Me’, a...

Melburnians, it’s time to get dotty, because NGV International is playing host to the largest collection of Yayoi Kusama’s work ever seen in Australia. The exhibition (aptly named Yayoi Kusama) will take over the entire ground floor of the gallery, with works from the artist best known for her unique use of dots. Opening on December 15, this world-premiere exhibition will feature more than 180 works, including an NGV-specific piece transforming the iconic Waterwall and an installation of giant balloons in the Great Hall called 'Dots Obsession'. Many of the works coming to Melbourne for this impressive exhibition have never been seen locally before, including the Australian debut of 'Dancing Pumpkin', a towering five-metre-tall bronze sculpture that visitors can view by walking underneath. As if five metres wasn’t tall enough, Melbourne will also score the Aussie premiere of Kusama’s six-metre-tall tentacle-esque sculpture, named 'The Hope of the Polkadots Buried in Infinity Will Eternally Cover the Universe'.  We’re particularly excited about the global premiere of a brand new Yayoi Kusama infinity room work, which will be part of a collection of immersive spaces included in the exhibition. Kusama’s infinity rooms employ the clever use of mirrors to create an illusion of never-ending space, making for a fun and mind-bending experience for visitors of all ages. Lucky for us, the artist has created a new room just for Melbourne!  Even more fortunately for Melburnians, it...

Fans of sneaky street art, rejoice! The acclaimed works of Banksy, the mysterious master of graffiti, are coming to Australia, and you won't even need to scour the city's laneways to see them for yourself. The Art of Banksy: Without Limits is a blockbuster exhibition that will feature murals, sculptures, photos, mapping shows (aka images or animations projected onto irregularly shaped surfaces), installations (including an “infinity room” filled with mirrors) and a simulation of ‘Dismaland Bemusement Park’ (for those who’ve never heard of it, it’s a gritty, dark theme park that was created by Banksy in 2015). It will also include a mix of replicas and originals of some of the artist's most famous works, like 'Rude Copper', 'Flower Thrower' and the instantly recognisable 'Girl with Balloon'. But wait, that's not all: Banky's recent Ukraine murals will be referenced, and there’s even a space that pays homage to the MV Louise Michel, the high-speed boat that Banksy financially keeps afloat in the Mediterranean Sea to rescue refugees. The exhibition will take place at The Disctrict Docklands, and has just been extended until February. You can snap up a ticket here.  Will Banksy be in attendance? Is this the moment Banksy's real identity will be revealed? The artist hasn't endorsed the exhibition, but knowing him, anything could happen!  Get pumped for the Banksy exhibition by checking out the best street art in Melbourne.

After a small hiatus, the Other Art Fair is returning to Melbourne and everyone, not just the ‘art crowd’, is invited. The fair features more than 100 emerging and indie artists from Melbourne and beyond, with the aim to reframe what an art fair can look like – geddit? From January 30 until February 2, the fair invites you to enjoy performances, immersive workshops and unexpected experiences. You can meet the artists, raise a glass (or two) or even get a tattoo during your visit.  If you’ve been before, it’s worth noting that each year promises a fresh batch of artists hocking take-home art for all budgets, across mediums typically including painting, sculpture, installation, photography, digital art and more. This time around, the line-up includes Steve Leadbeater, Katherine Gailer x Lucy Lucy and Simone Thomson.  It’s all happening at the Timber Yard in Port Melbourne – head to the Other Art Fair website for more information and to book tickets, which will cost you $15.76 for a regular session or $42.43 for an opening night ticket which allows complimentary re-entry.  Need inspiration all year round? Here's where to buy art in Melbourne.

Fall in love with life on a baking hot Greek island with the woman who has had enough of being unappreciated.  “Don’t say maybe, maybe,” sang Natalie Bassingthwaighte on the track ‘Voodoo Child’, back in her Rogue Traders-fronting days.  It may as well be the catchcry of frustrated housewife Shirley Valentine, who experiences a never-too-old awakening on an idyllic Greek island holiday in Willy Russell’s beloved one-woman play. It was adapted into a big-screen adventure for stage star Pauline Collins, who shared the limelight with Joanna Lumley and Tom Conti. Bassingthwaighte fronts this new staging at Melbourne’s grand old dame, the Athenaeum, as directed by theatrical wonderwoman Lee Lewis. She’s in good hands, with Lewis having run both Queensland Theatre and Sydney’s Griffin Theatre, where she helmed another smash hit solo show, Prima Facie. An empowering tale for the ages, Shirley Valentine introduces us to the Liverpudlian who was breaking the fourth wall way before Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag. Literally. She’s so bored out of her mind looking after her lazy husband that she monologues at the kitchen wallpaper while fixing him chips and eggs for dinner. So when her best mate wins a trip for two to Greece, she thinks, ‘What the hell?’ and makes a break for the sun by her side.  But how easy is it to go home to a monotonous bloke’s crushing mundanity when you’ve fallen head over heels for the Mediterranean lifestyle, all fresh food and delicious wines by the sea...