What’s on: Whitlams, Bowerbird, Duels & Duets

A Whitlams show fusing pop and orchestral musical, fine designs at Bowerbird Bazaar, a raucous romp with Julia Morris, ’80s hitmakers at The Gov, after-hours art at the Gallery, a fresh take on Henry V, Mr Burns and more.

Apr 30, 2017, updated May 08, 2017

The Whitlams will perform with the Adelaide Pops Orchestra at the Festival Theatre.

The Whitlams 25th anniversary tour – Festival Theatre

This series of shows sees The Whitlams joining with orchestras in six Australian cities to play new arrangements of hits such as “Blow Up the Pokies”, “No Aphrodisiac” and “I Make Hamburgers”. The arrangements were commissioned over a decade, with contributing composers including Peter Sculthorpe, Brett Dean and James Ledger. On Saturday, The Whitlams will take to the stage at the Festival Theatre with the Adelaide Pops Orchestra, conducted by Guy Noble.

Mr Burns: A Post-Electric Play – Space Theatre

This dark comedy is set nearly a century into the future in post-apocalyptic America – “a world without power” – where The Simpsons become a new kind of global religion. Mr Burns is being presented by the State Theatre Company of SA, in collaboration with Sydney’s Belvoir Theatre, until May 13. Read CityMag‘s interview with cast member Jude Henshall here and read InDaily‘s review of the show here.

Julia Morris – Festival Theatre

Absent from the comedy line-up during Adelaide Fringe – when she was busy hosting reality-TV show I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here – comedian Julia Morris is bringing her new show, Lift and Separate, to the Festival Theatre tonight (Friday). Suitable for ages 15+, it’s described as a raucous romp through the past two years: “It’s trying to make sense of day-to-day life while trying to actually Lift and Separate.” Tickets were still available last we looked.

Bowerbird Bazaar – Adelaide Showground

This weekend’s Bowerbird market will feature more than 160 stalls selling fashion, homewares, art and design products created by Australian independent designers and makers. Taking place over three days – from 4pm-9pm today and 10am-5pm Saturday and Sunday – it will also include demonstrations, workshops, food and drink stalls, and kids’ activities. As part of a new initiative, CityMag will be broadcasting live from the market, talking to designers and other participants, across the three days (see schedule here).

AMAA Launch Party – The Grace Emily

Adelaide band The Yearlings and singer-songwriter Taasha Coates are among acts performing at The Grace Emily on Saturday at the SA launch party for the Americana Music Association of Australia, an organisation dedicated to fostering Americana music. Also on the bill are Häna Brenecki, Matt J Ward and The Heggarties.

First Fridays – Art Gallery of SA

Installation view – ‘Versus Rodin: bodies across space and time’. Photo: Art Gallery of SA

Duels + Duets is the title of tonight’s First Fridays after-hours event at the Art Gallery of SA. In addition to a talk by local artist Ben Leslie about his work in the exhibition Versus Rodin: Bodies Across Space and Time, there will be a performance by sibling artists Bridget and Alison Currie, and music by Quincy’s Quartet and DJ TR!P. Versus Rodin brings together key pieces by Auguste Rodin, the pioneer of modern sculpture, with more than 200 works referencing the human body by other modern and contemporary artists. It is at the gallery until July 2.

Spanish Film Festival – Palace Nova Eastend

More than 30 films – including comedies, dramas, thrillers and documentaries – from Spain, Argentina, Chile, Mexico and Colombia are screening at Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas as part of the Spanish Film Festival until May 14. See the full program here.

Cirque Africa – Glenelg

Popular Fringe act Cirque Africa is back in town for a series of shows at the Wigley Reserve in Glenelg until May 14. A mixture of dance, acrobatics and comedy, all with a distinctly African flavour, it’s a high-energy, all-ages show. Read InDaily‘s Fringe review here.

1927 & Pseudo Echo / Russell Morris – The Gov

Australian bands 1927 and Pseudo Echo, both formed in the ’80s, have teamed up for a national tour that touches down at the Governor Hindmarsh tonight (Friday). On Saturday night, singer-songwriter Russell Morris will play a gig in support of his latest album Red Dirt – Red Heart, which won the ARIA Award for best blues/roots album in 2016.

Henry V – Little Theatre

Director Megan Dansie’s vision for this University of Adelaide Theatre Guild production of Henry V is inspired by the use of drama therapy for survivors of post-traumatic stress disorder. It sees a group of patients and family members performing the Shakespearean play as they deal with the trauma of war, exploring its effect and the difficult moral decisions made in the heat of battle. There are performances at Little Theatre, The Cloisters, Adelaide University, until May 20.

Yidaki – Didjeridu and The Sound of Australia – SA Museum

This landmark exhibition has been created in collaboration with the Yolngu people, cultural custodians of the yidaki (didjeridu). It explores the cultural and musical origins of the instrument, as well as its power and meaning in Yolngu life. Read more here. The exhibition continues at the SA Museum until July 16.

Unsettled: Colonial Ruin in the Flinders Ranges – State Library

This exhibition shares stories from the Flinders Ranges through a mixture of media art, photography, archival imagery and documentary interviews. Unsettled seeks to move beyond what it describes as “the nostalgia typical of settler-colonial representations”, and includes striking portraits of Adnyamathanha people taken at the Nepabunna Mission by Charles Mountford in the 1930s. Read more here. Unsettled is at the Institute Gallery of the State Library of South Australia until May 17.