Rock ‘n’ roll in the park, music in the vines, last-chance theatre
InDaily’s hit list of events and shows, including Bon Jovi and Birds of Tokyo at Botanic Park, Wine Machine music fest, The Merry Widow, the unique sounds of Icelandic pianist-producer Ólafur Arnalds and the final performances of The Gods of Strangers.
Bon Jovi will perform in Adelaide's Botanic Park on Tuesday.
Bon Jovi and Birds of Tokyo
2018 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees Bon Jovi will perform in Adelaide’s Botanic Park on Tuesday (December 4) as part of their international This House is Not for Sale Tour – their first tour in five years. One of only four performance dates across Australia, the gig will also feature support act Birds of Tokyo, whose rousing single “Unbreakable” was the theme song for the recent Invictus Games. Last we looked, tickets were still available.
The Merry Widow
State Opera is presenting Graeme Murphy’s acclaimed adaptation of Franz Lehar’s beloved operetta The Merry Widow at the Adelaide Festival Theatre. Famous for its waltzes and described by State Opera artistic director Stuart Maunder as a “gorgeous romp filled with devilish humour and romantic mischief”, The Merry Widow tells the story of a wealthy widow who inherits a large fortune after her wedding. It is set against a glittering backdrop of art-deco Paris and features an all-Australian cast led by soprano Antoinette Halloran as Hanna and Alexander Lewis as Count Danilo. Performances run until December 6.
Wine Machine
The touring Wine Machine music festival lands in McLaren Vale this Saturday with a line-up including Hot Dub Time Machine, San Cisco, Confidence Man, Jack River, Kira Puru and Kinder. The 18+ event is being held at Penny’s Hill winery from 2pm, with buses available from Adelaide.
Gods of Strangers
Photo: Chris Herzfeld
This weekend is the last chance to see State Theatre Company’s “epic family drama” The Gods of Strangers, which has its final performance on Sunday. Written by State Theatre resident artist Elena Carapetis, the play is based on the oral histories of Greek, Cypriot and Italian migrants to Port Pirie and inspired by Carapetis’s own family history. It is a thought-provoking production that will strike a chord with many theatre-goers, according to InDaily reviewer Steve Evans.
John Mawurndjul: I am the old and the new
John Mawurndjul: I am the old and the new – installation view. Photo: Jessica Maurer
Tarnanthi Contemporary Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Festival’s feature artist, John Mawurndjul, is presenting his solo exhibition I am the old and the new in Galleries 23, 24 and 25 at the Art Gallery of SA. The bark painter has been celebrated internationally for his meticulously painted rarrk (cross-hatching) technique. I am the old and the new is his first major Australian survey of works and features more than 160 paintings and sculptures from Australian and overseas collectors spanning four decades. Presented bilingually in Kuninjku and English, the exhibition runs until January 28 and explores Mawurndjul’s Kuninjku culture and the connections between land and ancestral power his home in western Arnhem Land.
Ólafur Arnalds
Iceland-born pianist Ólafur Arnalds will perform his haunting music with the backing of a seven-piece band at Dunstan Playhouse on Tuesday. Arnalds is best known for his mix of strings, piano, loops and beats to create a signature haunting sound. He will perform new compositions from his fourth album, re:member, featuring tracks played with an “algorithmic device”, which transforms the piano into two self-playing, semi-generative pianos. Arnalds says of the pianos: “Each time they are played is a little different, making every performance unique.”
