Events
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Music | Theatre | Community | Exhibition | Learn | Comedy | Sport | Free | Wheelchair accessible
The Irreducible
Step into a vivid, otherworldly environment where surfaces ooze, webs breathe and the human shifts between forms. The Irreducible is a visceral performance exploring ‘trans’formation, symbiosis, and the porous boundary between the body, identity and the world around us.
With striking visuals, unsettling choreography, and a surreal soundscape, this piece invites audiences to witness an eerie cycle of emergence, decay, and renewal—where nothing is static, and even the space itself seems sentient. Award-winning director-performer Cohan investigates the boundaries between the queer body, the self and object.
WARNINGS
Nudity and Strobe Lighting
ACCESSIBILITY
Explosives Factory is accessed via a flight of stairs and is not wheelchair accessible.
Newton Faulkner (UK)
Multi-platinum UK artist promoting a new album.
Four Generations In One House 四世同堂
Produced and presented by the National Theatre of China (NTC) and directed by Tian Qinxin, President of the NTC, Four Generations in One House brings to the stage one of the most significant works by literary master Lao She.
Using a “New Realism” approach, the production recreates the everyday life of a Beijing hutong, weaving together family relationships, personal destinies, and the quiet resilience of ordinary people.
This event is restricted to patrons aged 6 years and over.
Penelope Swales and the Stranded Assets
Penelope’s searing songwriting and soaring vocals are artfully underpinned by Mal Webb on bass and vocals and Kylie Morrigan on fiddle and vocals. Their award-winning material will leave you both satisfied and thoughtful.
Mara
A fearlessly inventive retelling of the Cinderella story from the stepmother’s perspective.
“A dynamic work of contemporary storytelling, MARA gives humanity to this childhood bogeywoman, and explores the complexities of (step)motherhood, love, and female identity.”
Matineees:
Thursday 23 April – 11:00am
Friday 24 April – 11:00am
Saturday 25 April – 2:00pm
Tuesday 28 April – 11:00am
Wednesday 29 April – 11:00am
Thursday 30 April – 11:00am
Friday 1 May – 11:00am
Jeff Goldblum and The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra
The Night Blooms World Tour will bring his musical recordings to life on stage, serving audiences an intimate yet exuberant evening of jazz and storytelling with a delicious dollop of Hollywood vibes.
The Honey Badgers + The Maskell Love Band
The Honey Badgers are an electrifying blues and soul outfit from Adelaide, Australia.
Powered by a punchy horn section and deep, infectious grooves, the band delivers high energy performances designed to get audiences moving and feeling good.
Andrew De Silva’s Dedication to Prince
Andrew De Silva returns to The Prince Bandroom with a very special performance: A Decade in Purple.
This milestone event marks 10 years since the passing of Prince, and also 10 years since Andrew first launched his acclaimed “Dedication to Prince” show — a tribute that began just months before Prince’s untimely passing in 2016.
Global citizen science event in Albert Park
The EcoCentre are hosting a special event for City Nature Challenge 2026: Invisible Invertebrates!
Invertebrates (animals that don’t have internal skeletons) make up over 90% of animal species, but most of us are very unfamiliar with them. This event will introduce you to these beautiful creatures, how important they are for our planet and how to get the best snapshots of them for iNaturalist.
The action happens Albert Park Playground (St Kilda) behind St Kilda Park Primary School.
Free
Sisters in Crime – Journalist Sleuths
Journalists love a bit of criminal activity and many have novel ideas too!
Have dinner and a lively panel discussion at a top pub.
Christine Gregory (The Informant), Madeleine Cleary (The Butterfly Women), Laraine Stephens (The White Feather Murders) talk about why and how journalists make such superlative investigators when it comes to crime mysteries with former journalist and crime author, Dr Liz Porter.
Jason Bonham
Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening/JBLZE celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the Led Zeppelin classic, Physical Graffiti.
So Yesterday – The Pop Girlies Who Raised Us
An entire evening jam packed with DJs spinning hits from the 90’s and Noughties
Trio Anima Mundi
This internationally acclaimed ensemble has stood out as a beacon in Australia’s chamber music scene since its establishment in 2008.
Carl Reissinger, Piano Trio No. 2 in B-flat major
Felix Mendelssohn, Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor
Tickets at the door (no EFTPOS)
Students: granted free entry with a valid student card.
Billy Field
Billy Field burst onto the national charts with his debut album Bad Habits (1981), which reached No. 1 in Australia and produced two enduring hits: “Bad Habits” & “You Weren’t in Love with Me”
MC’d by Countdown’s Gavin Wood.
Billy Field Returns to Melbourne After 40 Years
Author Talk with Jane Gazzo
Join author and broadcaster Jane Gazzo for an engaging exploration of Australian music in the 1980s and 1990s. From synth-pop innovators to indie rock breakthroughs, Jane unpacks the artists, stories and cultural shifts that shaped two defining decades.
Presented in celebration of St Kilda’s influential musical legacy, this talk includes an audience Q&A and book signing.
Pupo (Enzo Ghinazzi)
2026 marks a golden milestone for Italian music royalty — Pupo (Enzo Ghinazzi) celebrates 50 glittering years in show business! Singer, songwriter, lyricist, author, and television personality, Pupo is more than a household name — he’s a legend whose music has touched hearts across the globe.
Alan Menken
Stories and Songs in concert by the 8-Time Oscar-Winning Composer, marking the first time Alan Menken has ever performed publicly in Australia.
RECOMMENDED 8 YEARS +
Red Sky Morning
A powerful and poetic story about family, silence, and finding hope in the everyday.
Tom Holloway’s award-winning script captures the heart of regional Australia: the early mornings, the long silences, the unspoken care that holds families together. With sharp wit and tender honesty, it reflects the challenges and strength of small-town life, where connection is both fragile and essential.
Saturday 16 May – 2:00pm
XLOV
K-Pop sensations. ‘Feel the hype. Join the crowd.’
The group features members including How, Lim, Rui, Hy, and Hyun
Phil Rosenthal
Phil Rosenthal is the award-winning creator and executive producer of “SOMEBODY FEED PHIL” and “EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND”, as well as a New York Times Best Selling Author.
Join Phil Rosenthal in a moderated conversation followed by an audience Q&A. Phil will be telling all the funny and true stories of his life, his television career, food, travel, friends and family.
Beck
Tuesday, Wednesday
Beck accompanied by orchestras for a very special limited run of five shows including two at the Palais Theatre – reimagining a body of work including hits and deep cuts from classic Beck works.
Performing with Beck at the Palais Theatre will be Philharmonia Australia (Orchestra Director Leah Zweck), with Orchestra Supervisor Chong Lim AM.
The Waterboys
‘Critically acclaimed as one of the best live bands on the planet.’
TYhe band features double keyboard players Brother Paul from Memphis and James Hallawell from Cornwall and is grounded by killer Irish rhythm section Aongus Ralston (bass) and Eamon Ferris (drums).
Of Monsters and Men
From Reykjavík to the global stage, Of Monsters and Men (OMAM) first captured the world’s attention with their 2011 debut My Head Is an Animal, transforming from Icelandic indie favourites into a band known and loved worldwide.
Carl Barron: Just Wondering Why
One thing Carl has heard his whole life is that he thinks too much. He thought about it, considered it, and then realised he was doing it again.
Hear Carl wonder out loud about the small things of life, which may happen to be the big things of life.
Rec 18+
No show Wednresday 28 May
Sparks – The Very Best Of
‘Your favourite band’s favourite band, the legendary US art pop icons, Sparks, are returning to Australia for headline shows’
The Next 170 Years
Saturday, Sunday
Did you know that tucked away in suburban South Melbourne is the oldest Chinese temple in Australia?
Despite the main Kwan Tai Hallbeing being devasted by fire in 2024, you are invited you to view an exhibition about the temple’s significance, the building and conservation recovery efforts to date and what the future holds.
Weekends 9.00 am – 3.30 pm
Free
Picturing Democracy
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday
In Picturing Democracy, Ross Coulter explores and poetically creates representations of democracy, democratic processes, community participation, and connections across the City of Port Phillip.
Drawing from 4,000 photographs held within the Port Phillip City Collection, and in addition to creating his own photographs, artist and curator Ross Coulter re-imagines what democracy looks like, from the past and into the future.
Free
Ray Lawler’s Doll Trilogy
Monday
Lauded as a “watershed moment” for Australian theatre in 1955, Summer of the Seventeenth Doll became part of our cultural mythology. Expanded with Kid Stakes and Other Times, Ray Lawler’s trilogy charts the transformation of a nation.
In 2026 The Doll Trilogy will be performed in its entirety for the first time since 1985, by a single ensemble as Lawler intended. Experience the raw beauty, humour and heartbreak that have made these plays a cornerstone of our cultural identity.
From the playful romance of Kid Stakes in 1937, through the war-shadowed years of Other Times, to the shattering conclusion of Summer of the Seventeenth Doll in 1953, the characters embody idealism, disappointment and resilience against the backdrop of a rapidly changing world. Lawler’s masterful writing depicts working class Melbourne with warmth, humour and sensitivity.
Written for a dedicated ensemble, The Doll Trilogy finds its ideal home at Red Stitch where intimacy, ambition, and the actors’ craft unite to immerse audiences in this uniquely Melbourne story.
See each play at your pace or go full trilogy on selected weekends.