Things to do in Melbourne this weekend

While rugging up in front of the TV is best suited to cooler months, summer doesn’t mean the end of movie nights. In fact, they’re getting a major upgrade this season thanks to a free program of classics, blockbusters and festival screenings that’s set to roll out in Fed Square from January 3 until March 25. The exciting crop of mini-programs includes three nights of Christopher Nolan’s collaborations with composer Hans Zimmer (Inception, Interstellar, and The Dark Knight), a celebration of the queen of country Dolly Parton (just in time for her 79th birthday), and a trio of boot scootin’ westerns (yee-haw). On the festival front, you can bring the whole family along to 2000s cult-comedy Best in Show as part of the NGV Kids Summer Festival, or close out your Midsumma celebrations at a showing of 1978 classic The Wiz, starring Diana Ross. The gem in the program’s crown is three days of silent cinema with live scores – an unusual treat. Gather your picnic supplies, movie buffs and music nerds, and settle in for rare screenings of three transportative, uproarious silent films.  Catch the carefully-restored classical Indian folk story Ramayana and other tales, Hollywood dino-romp The Lost World or rip-roaring Buster Keaton physical comedies One Week and Sherlock Jr. Find out more and start scheduling your free summer movie nights. Want more? These are the best outdoor cinemas in Melbourne. 

Here's a guaranteed way to not cure your fear of flying: step inside a plane cabin recreated inside a 40-foot shipping container, don a pair of high quality binaural headphones and plunge headfirst into complete darkness. Flight – an immersive and truly terrifying Darkfield experience – returns to Melbourne by popular demand after a successful run in 2022. It takes you on a turbulance-filled journey through two worlds, two realities and two outcomes. Just know that there are many ways in which the plane lands safely – but will that be your final destination? Flight will run for a three-month season at the Art Centre Melbourne forecourt from December 13. Tickets are on sale now via the website. This review was originally written in 2022, when Flight was last in Melbourne – please be aware that some elements may have changed. You know the drill: check your boarding pass, find your assigned seat, stow your baggage in the overhead bin and fasten your seatbelt. Make sure your tray table is in the upright position, and make sure your window blind is open for take-off. On a monitor in front of you, a flight attendant in a blue uniform details the safety features of this aircraft. She explains that you should take a minute to find your nearest exit, bearing in mind it might be behind you. As she adjusts her pink scarf, she... wait a minute, wasn't her uniform blue? The screen flickers and she's back to blue, and you wonder if you imagined the pink. And then the lights go out. ...

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.

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...

Tina Turner was the bread and butter of our household TV screen. She belted alongside Mick Jagger at Live Aid, leather-clad and big hair, raced her supercharged engine across Coober Pedy in Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome and assured the world that everything would be alright as David Bowie slipped out of the shadows during her Private Dancer Tour. She was one of music’s indomitable icons, a powerhouse; she was the Queen of Rock‘n’Roll. When Tina – The Tina Turner Musical finally rolled into Melbourne’s Princess Theatre after its West End debut and national run, it arrived with sky-high expectations. Having stacked up Tony and Olivier nominations as well as praise from Rolling Stone for its ability to simultaneously “entertain and enlighten”, I’m relieved to say that this Melbourne production did not disappoint. Leather, shoulder pads and sequins that would make Tina herself proud, danced across the red carpet on opening night with hundreds, including local Australian stars, paying homage. For someone like me, who never experienced Tina live beyond the glow of a television screen, the energy certainly made it feel like the real deal.  The musical, written by Katori Hall alongside Frank Ketelaar and Kees Prins, and directed by Phyllida Lloyd, stays true to Tina’s journey – thanks, in part, to Tina herself. From her early days in Nutbush, Tennessee, with gospel choirs and dusty churches, to the St. Louis blues scene where she met Ike Turner, across the globe to the soggy streets...

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...

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...

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...

Block out your calendars on Sunday, January 19, because this beloved all-day queer party is back once more to kick off the 22 days of rainbow joy that is Midsumma Festival. No matter whether you’re a family in the mood for a picnic lunch or you’re ready to dance the night away, Midsumma Carnival’s packed line-up really does have something for everyone. Sashay down to Alexandra Gardens on the bank of the Yarra for a free day of music, performances, entertainment and many dozens of stalls. Stay hydrated at the pop-up bars, satiated at multiple food zones, or explore booths from queer-friendly community groups and businesses selling wares and sometimes giving away free goodies.  A marvellous and multifaceted line-up of LGBTQIA+ artists will grace three stages from 11am, with more than 120,000 fabulous humans expected to traverse the festival grounds throughout the day and night. Midsumma Carnival is designed to be safe and accessible for everyone, with a more family-friendly atmosphere in the daytime. When the sun goes down, the gardens will play host to a dance party until the wee hours (aka 9pm – it is a Sunday, after all).  The line-up is impressively vast, featuring Adan Noviello, the Huxleys, Melbourne Gay and Lesbian Chorus, Tina Del Twist and more. You can also expect DJ sets including Sunday School DJs, DJ Gay Dad and Sugar Plump Fairy.  The famous Dog Show is the perfect opportunity to dress up your pooch and compete for the prize of Ultimate Best Dog. Afterwards,...

One thing we love about Melbourne summer is that there is fun to be had no matter where you live. You can celebrate the warm weather locally, or you could venture out to a new place you’ve never been before. One place to definitely check out – whether you're a local or not – is Bunjil Place in Narre Warren. All summer long, there will be activities aplenty for families, kids and lovers of all things arts and culture.  Country music lovers rejoice! Making its debut at Summer Stage is Citybound, Melbourne’s only country music festival, headlined by the sensational Taylor Moss. Or if country tunes are not quite your thing, Kozy Fest, curated by Squid the Kid, will feature a line-up of fresh new voices set to shake up the scene. For something a little bit different, we recommend Beats Bingo (plus DJ Yay), where instead of numbers they play snippets of your favourite tunes. Alongside the epic playlist, you'll enjoy sing-along acoustic covers, mini games and theatrical performances that will get everyone up and dancing. For the girls, gays and theys, there is Glitter Groove – the biggest queer party in the South East. After a smashing debut at the Midsumma Festival 2024, Glitter Groove is back for Midsumma 2025 and will be sparklier than ever. Then for some laughs, there’s Dolly Diamond’s Rather Large Variety Night with special guest drag queens Iva Rosebud, Jens Radda and draglesque performer Azcadelia.  For a wine tasting with a side of belly laughs, you can’t look past In...