What’s on in Adelaide

Sep 11, 2013, updated Oct 22, 2015

Three Weddings and a Cook is a free OzAsia event at the Migration Museum.

It’s show time this weekend – and not just at Wayville – with a swag of OzAsia Festival shows, new theatre productions, “theobatics” and the sultry sounds of spring.

OzAsia Festival

The OzAsia Festival opens tonight (Friday) with performances including Meeting with Bodhisattva, a “whirlwind of athletic drumming, martial arts, Buddhist chanting and sacred dance” by Taiwan’s U-Theatre at her Majesty’s Theatre. Other opening-weekend acts include Malaysian singers Guba (see InDaily preview) and Yuna, who will be doing separate shows at the Space Theatre, while the Migration Museum is hosting a free event on Sunday (11am-4pm) called Three Weddings and a Cook which will explore Asian wedding customs and include food stalls and a cooking demonstration by TV chef Poh Ling Yeow. OzAsia runs until September 29, with the popular free Moon Lantern Festival in Elder Park on September 19.

Royal Adelaide Show

Haven’t made it to the Royal Adelaide Show yet this year? Well, you’ve still got two days left to head down to the showgrounds at Wayville and immerse yourself in the fun of the fair, including horticultural and craft displays, the ever-popular farmyard nursery, showground rides, live music, woodcutting competitions, motor X displays, a ute parade, demolition derby, nightly fireworks displays – and, of course, as many dagwood dogs and as much fairy floss as you can handle.

Brief Encounter

UK company Kneehigh Theatre’s Brief Encounter (see InDaily preview) is a colourful re-imagining of David Lean’s 1945 film of the same name and Noel Coward’s 1930s play Still Life, rekindling the romance of a bygone era but in a multi-media production that blends live theatre with film sequences. Centred on married woman Laura and doctor Alec, who meet by chance at a train station, it officially opens tonight (Friday) at the Dunstan Playhouse and runs until September 28.

Coriole Triptych

McLaren Vale’s Coriole Vineyards is heralding the arrival of spring with a weekend of music, food and wine. A Highland Odyssey, on Saturday afternoon, will feature Scottish-inspired music by singers Emma Horwood, Rosalind Martin and Cheryl Pickering, while in the evening composer and pianist Richard Chew will premiere music from his new solo piano suite, “The Last of England”. On Sunday afternoon, the Seraphim Trio will be joined by trumpeter David Elton in a program featuring works by Beethoven, Hummel, Weill and De Falla.

Lanie Lane

Sultry songstress Lanie Lane (left) is performing a stripped-back show at The Promethean tonight (Friday) as part of her Hello Spring tour. Lane says fans can expect to hear some new tracks as well as old favourites as she “comes out of hibernation” after taking a break from touring following the success of her gold-selling album To the Horses.

Empire by Spiegelworld

Described by the New York Times as “Cirque du Soleil as channelled through Rocky Horror Picture Show”, this athletic and risqué show is now entertaining audiences in Adelaide. There will be shows in the Spiegeltent in Rymill Park right up until September 29, with Empire audiences promised a 90-minute “theobatic” performance that melds circus, cabaret, variety and burlesque (see InDaily review).

The Dark Room

This psychological thriller by playwright Angela Betzien is being presented at Holden Street Theatres in Hindmarsh until September 28. Set in a motel room in the Northern Territory, it weaves together the stories of six characters: youth worker Anni, who has brought teenager Grace to the motel as last-resort accommodation; Steve and his pregnant wife Emma, who are staying after a wedding; and policeman Craig, who is seeking space to think.