Melbourne Ska Orchestra – The Gov

Music fans are being promised “an unstoppable dance floor” when the 30-plus-piece Melbourne Ska Orchestra brings its big-band sound to the Governor Hindmarsh Hotel tonight as part of a national tour celebrating the release of their second album. On Saturday, The Gov will host Bosnian group Plavi Orkestar and Serbian reggae-ska-hip-hop outfit S.A.R.S.

Apia Good Times Tour – Entertainment Centre

This annual tour is back in town, this time with Daryl Braithwaite, Kate Ceberano, Jon Stevens and John Paul Young taking to the stage backed by a six-piece band and three former cast members of Jesus Christ Superstar.  It’s at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre tonight (Friday) only.

David Stratton’s Great Britain Retro Film Festival

‘Our Man in Havana’, screening at the Retro Film Festival.

Sixteen classic British films from the 1940s to the 1990s are screening at Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas during this festival, which continues until June 1. They include 1962 epic Lawrence of Arabia (starring Peter O’Toole), 1955 black comedy Ladykillers (Alec Guinness, Peter Sellers), Stanley Kubrick’s 1965 Cold War satire Dr Strangelove and 1945 fantasy comedy Blithe Spirit. Read more in this InDaily story, and view the full program here.

Cloudstreet – Her Majesty’s Theatre

State Opera SA’s Cloudstreet, based on Tim Winton’s popular book about two working-class families sharing a ramshackle house in the mid-20^th century, has its final performances this weekend at Her Majesty’s Theatre. Directed by Gale Edwards, with music by George Palmer, the musical features a large cast singing in the Australian vernacular, a sumptuous set and impressive video imagery. Click here to read InDaily’s review.

Things I Know to Be True – Dunstan Playhouse

This new Australian play by Andrew Bovell tells the story of a dysfunctional family driven apart by their various emotional crises. A collaboration between the State Theatre Company of SA and UK theatre company Frantic Assembly, Things I Know to Be True stars Paul Blackwell, Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Nathan O’Keefe, Eugenia Fragos and Tim Walker, with music by composer Nils Frahm. It’s at the Dunstan Playhouse until June 4.

Mirusia – Festival Theatre

Soprano Mirusia, who has toured internationally with André Rieu, is performing with her Chamber Orchestra at the Adelaide Festival Centre’s Festival Theatre at 4pm on Saturday. The program for the two-hour concert is described as “classical crossover”, and will include songs from Mirusia’s albums – including “Ave Maria”, “Memory” and “All I Ask of You” – as well as her own compositions.

Carclew Open House

The North Adelaide home of youth arts organisation Carclew is hosting an open house on Saturday as part of the South Australian History Festival. From 10am-4pm there will be tours of the circa-1897 building, plus a bake sale. There are more than 600 events across the state as part of this year’s History Festival, which continues until May 31. View the full program here.

Public Image, Private Lives – Art Gallery of SA

Subtitled Family, Friends and Self in Photography, this free exhibition features intimate portraits from the 19^th century to the present by Australian and international artists including Max Dupain and Andy Warhol. They include a heartrending series by Sydney photographer William Yang of a friend with AIDS, and candid images by Carol Jerrems capturing 1970s counterculture.

Transitions Film Festival – Mercury Cinema

Showcasing provocative documentaries exploring issues such as climate change, the future of food, global aid and urban transport, the Transitions Film Festival is at Adelaide’s Mercury Cinema until May 29. It also includes post-screening discussions with filmmakers and “local thought leaders”. View the full program online.

The Cat Empire – Thebarton Theatre

The Cat Empire on tour. Photo: Aaron Parsons Photography

Energetic genre-defying Australian group The Cat Empire, last here for WOMADelaide in March, are back in town as part of a tour supporting their latest album, Rising With the Sun. They’re playing one show only at the Thebby on May 26.

Saltwater Country – Tandanya

Sixteen Indigenous artists from Queensland are showing work that draws on their connection to the coastline, sea and waterways in Saltwater Country at Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute until June 6. Two other new exhibitions at the institute are Pampa Mara Tjanpi (early woven Tjanpi works from the Ngaanyatjarra Lands, until July 9) and Nature Calls (paintings on canvas by Trevor “Turbo” Brown, until July 9).

Feast Festival Quiz Night – Freemasons Hall

Melbourne drag queen Miss Rhonda Butchmore (aka comedian Thomas Jaspers) hosts the Feast Festival Quiz Night – a fundraiser for Adelaide’s annual celebration of queer arts and culture – tonight (Friday) at the Freemasons Hall. Details here.

Nunsense – Blackwood Memorial Hall

This musical farce about the misadventures of five nuns trying to host a variety show to raise funds to bury their accidentally poisoned sisters is being presented by the Blackwood Players at the Blackwood Memorial Hall until June 4. Details here.

Shields: Power and Protection in Aboriginal Australia – SA Museum

This weekend is your last chance to see this exhibition at the South Australian Museum exploring the role of shields in Aboriginal culture and history. As well as being used in individual and group conflict, carved and painted shields carry symbolism and affirm ancestral links.

iTedE – Her Majesty’s Theatre

Comedy performer David Strassman is back with a new technology-inspired show that sees his puppet characters Chuck Wood and Ted E. Bare thrust into the world of social media. iTedE will be at Her Maj from May 24-29.

Australian Ballet’s Swan Lake – Festival Theatre

This traditional interpretation of Swan Lake was created by resident choreographer Stephen Baynes for the Australian Ballet’s 50th anniversary in 2012 and has been revived in 2016. After a sold-out season in Sydney, it will be presented at the Adelaide Festival Centre‘s Festival Theatre – with music by the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra – from May 26-31.

The Two Gentlemen of Verona – Little Theatre

University of Adelaide Theatre Guild is presenting Shakespeare’s tale of the battle between loyalty and love at the Little Theatre, The Cloisters, Adelaide Uni, until May 21. Details here.

On screen

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

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
Bastille Day
Bad Neighbours 2: Sorority Rising
A Month of Sundays
Captain America: Civil War
The Boss