Tarnanthi Festival – Bush Mechanics & Namatjira Project Auction

The work of more than 1000 artists is on show in exhibitions across Adelaide during the Tarnanthi Festival of Contemporary Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art. Participating venues and organisations include ACE Open, Adelaide Central School of Art, Tandanya, JamFactory, Vitalstatistix, and the Art Gallery of South Australia, with the latter’s major Tarnanthi exhibition continuing until January 28. Bush Mechanics, an exhibition based on the quirky TV program of the same name, is showing at the Torrens Parade Ground until October 28 as part of the festival. The AGSA is also hosting a series of artist and curator talks this weekend, as well as the Namatjira Project Auction. See the full Tarnanthi program here.

ASO’s Taking Flight – Grainger Studio

Recorder virtuous Genevieve Lacey joins the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra for this Saturday night performance, part of the orchestra’s Gigs at Grainger series. Conducted by Paul Kildea, Taking Flight is inspired by birdsong – from “the pied butcherbirds of Central Australian deserts to the whooper swans of the Arctic Circle”. Find out more in this Q&A with Lacey and book tickets here.

Impersonal Space – Queen’s Theatre

Described as a “full-hearted and funny look at how autistic people see and experience the world”, Impersonal Space is a new production by Company AT. The work was written by Adelaide playwright Emily Steele, drawing on the real-life experiences of its autistic cast, and centres on a nine-year-old girl who sets out on a journey of the imagination after being diagnosed with autism. Impersonal Space is playing at the Queen’s Theatre until October 28.

State Theatre’s Switzerland – Dunstan Playhouse

Complex and divisive American author Patricia Highsmith (The Talented Mr Ripley, Strangers on a Train) is the inspiration for this twisty thriller by Australian playwright Joanna Murray-Smith. The fictional tale sees a publicist from New York visit the semi-reclusive Highsmith at her home in Switzerland to convince her to write one more Ripley story – but it emerges he is actually on a more sinister mission. Read more in this InDaily interview with actress Sandy Gore. Previews of Switzerland begin tonight, with the season continuing until November 5.

Richard Clapton / Sebastian Bach – The Gov

Singer-songwriter Richard Clapton is playing at The Governor Hindmarsh tonight as part of a national tour of shows featuring some of his greatest hits alongside songs from his latest album, The House of Orange. He will be supported by local musician Kelly Menhennett, with doors opening at 7.30pm. For a change of pace on Sunday night, you can catch Sebastian Bach, the original voice of Skid Row.

State Opera’s Die Fledermaus! – Her Majesty’s Theatre

Director David Lampard’s production of Strauss’s revenge-fuelled comedy operetta Die Fledermaus! (The Bat) makes its main-stage debut in Her Majesty’s Theatre next Tuesday and Wednesday (October 24-25). The production, set in modern times in California, is “a tale of the rich and idle behaving very badly”. Read more here.

Angelique – Her Majesty’s Theatre

Described as “curiously Alice in Wonderland-esque in its quirky, black-comedic narrative”, Angelique is a new production by Adelaide theatre company isthisyours? The title character is a young woman trying to make sense of her place in a world turned upside down. Read more in this CityMag interview with actress and theatre-maker Louisa Mignone. Angelique is playing at Her Majesty’s Theatre until October 21.

Paolo Sebastian X – Art Gallery of SA

This exhibition celebrates the 10th anniversary of South Australian designer Paul Vasileff’s celebrated couture label Paolo Sebastian, with hand-crafted gowns from the past on show alongside the gallery’s collection of historic European art. Paolo Sebastian X is in galleries 12–16 until December 10, with free entry.

Saga Land meet-the-authors event – Elder Hall

Broadcaster Richard Fidler, well-known as the host of ABC Radio program Conversations with Richard Fidler, and author Kári Gíslason will take part in a meet-the-authors event at Elder Hall next Wednesday (October 25). The co-authors will be talking about their book Saga Land, described as “a gripping blend of family mystery, contemporary stories and the beautiful and bloody Viking tales, set against the starkly stunning landscape of Iceland”. The event has been organised by Matilda Bookshop and will be hosted by the ABC’s Deb Tribe. Details here.

 Japanese Film Festival – GU Film House

Radiance – one of the films showing at the Japanese Film Festival.

This showcase of Japanese cinema at the GU Film House in Hindley Street this weekend comprises a collection of new films including comedies, samurai and yakuza action, manga adaptations, romances, drama and more. Read Peter C Pugsley’s review of the opening night film Mumon: The Land of Stealth here, and see the program here.

Men Behaving Badly – Holden Street Theatres

Director Matt Byrne (Matt Byrne Media) is presenting four episodes – Bed, Marriage, Drink and Sofa – from the British sitcom Men Behaving Badly in this stage show at Holden Street Theatres until October 21. Show details here.

After Utopia – Samstag Museum

After Utopia: Revisiting the Ideal in Asian Contemporary Art features moving image, installation, painting and sculpture by artists from South-East Asian countries including Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. Read more about the exhibition in this CityMag interview. It will be at the Samstag until December 1.

On screen

See InDaily’s reviews of the latest films screening in Adelaide:

Thor: Ragnarok
The Snowman
Blade Runner 2049
The Battle of the Sexes
The Dancer
Kingsman 2: The Golden Circle