Must-see entertainment in Australia & Pacific

  • Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace

    Sydney

    Return to cinema’s golden age at this fab art-deco gem (1935). It still has its original Wurlitzer organ, which gets a workout at special events.

  • The Camelot Lounge nightspot in Marrickville

    Camelot Lounge

    Newtown & the Inner West

    In increasingly hip Marrickville, this eclectic little venue hosts jazz, world music, blues, folk, comedy, cabaret and various other offbeat genres. There…

  • Capri Theatre

    Capri Theatre

    Adelaide

    In Adelaide’s inner-southwestern suburbs, the art-deco Capri hosts everyone from local jazz big-bands to touring Creedence Clearwater Revival tribute acts…

  • Casablabla

    Casablabla

    Adelaide

    This enduring, good-time late-nighter operates under a broad live-music remit of Friday and Saturday nights, swinging from swing, funk and jazz to salsa,…

  • Thebarton Theatre

    Thebarton Theatre

    Adelaide

    Now this old stager has got soul! Vaguely art deco, the 1928 'Thebby' is an iconic Adelaide live-music venue with great acoustics and buckets of charm…

  • The Moon, Northbridge.

    Moon

    Perth

    A low-key, late-night cafe that's been running for more than 20 years and is regarded as a local institution, particularly by students. It has singer…

  • Riverside Theatre.

    Riverside Theatre

    Sydney

    This likeable theatre and cinema lives up to its name and has a program of high-quality drama, concerts and other performances. A major redevelopment of…

  • Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas

    Palace Nova Eastend

    Adelaide

    Just off Rundle St, handily poised down the alley next to the Exeter Hotel, this plush city complex screens new-release art-house, foreign-language and…

  • GU Film House

    GU Film House

    Adelaide

    We were deeply unimpressed when the charming old Glenelg movie house on Jetty Rd was bulldozed a few years ago. But now there's the shiny new six-screen…

  • His Majesty's Theatre

    His Majesty's Theatre

    Perth

    The majestic home to the West Australian Ballet and West Australian Opera, as well as lots of theatre, comedy and cabaret.

  • Inside Palace Verona cinema.

    Palace Verona

    Sydney

    This urbane four-screen cinema has a cool cafe and bar, useful for discussing the merits of the arty flick you’ve just seen. This and its sibling cinemas…

  • Newtown's New Theatre

    New Theatre

    Newtown & the Inner West

    Australia’s oldest continuously performing theatre (since 1932), Newtown’s eclectic New Theatre produces new dramas as well as more established pieces…

  • Piccadilly Cinema

    Piccadilly Cinema

    Adelaide

    A beaut old art-deco cinema on the main North Adelaide strip, with a sexily curved street frontage and chevron-shaped windows spangled across the facade…

  • Enmore theatre in Enmore

    Enmore Theatre

    Newtown & the Inner West

    Originally a vaudeville playhouse, the bohemian art-deco Enmore now hosts medium-sized touring bands, plus theatre, ballet and comedy.

  • Shot of Lorne Theatre building on the town's main street.

    Lorne Theatre

    Great Ocean Road

    This art-deco theatre (built 1937) shows new-release films daily in peak season.

  • Jellybean statue outside the Centre of Contemporary Arts.

    Centre of Contemporary Arts

    Cairns

    CoCA was undergoing a major refurbishment in 2018, but should reopen in mid-2019 – check the website for updates.

  • Whoa! Studios

    Auckland

    Exciting and educational kids' shows are performed at this innovative theatre in Henderson – expect extreme fun and irreverence – and the whole shebang…

  • American Express Openair Cinemas

    Brisbane

    From mid-July to mid-August, watch recent-release films and retro favourites in Brisbane's City Botanic Gardens. You can hire loungers ($9) and blankets (…

  • Empire Theatre

    Brisbane & Around

    Toowoomba's cultural heart beats stridently inside the magnificent Empire Theatre, sections of which date back to 1911 (the facade is from 1933). The…

  • Brunswick Picture House

    Byron Bay & Northern NSW

    Laurence Olivier Award–winning cabaret artists Brett Haylock and Chris Chen transformed the town's languishing 1950s 'picture palace' into a vibrant…

  • Ned Kelly's Last Stand

    Victoria

    At the Glenrowan Tourist Centre, Ned Kelly’s Last Stand is an over-the-top animated performance where Kelly’s story is told in a series of rooms by a cast…

  • Rektango

    Hobart

    Some of Hobart’s best live tunes get an airing every Friday night in the Salamanca Arts Centre Courtyard, best reached off Woobys Lane. It’s a free…

  • Ruby's

    Wanaka

    How very Wānaka that an art-house cinema should adjoin an indoor climbing wall. Channelling a lush New York or Shanghai vibe, Ruby's has a whiff of cinema…

  • Blundstone Arena

    Hobart

    Hobart's home of cricket and football is across the Derwent River from the city in Bellerive. The AFL's North Melbourne Football Club plays four home…

  • Red Desert Reptiles

    Yulara

    In the concrete amphitheatre a couple of hundred metres north of the Yulara Town Sq, Danny, the local snake catcher, runs this reptile show that…

  • Heartbeat of the Murray

    Victoria

    Every night at dusk this 360-degree laser, light and water show re-creates the creation of the Murray River from prehistoric times to the present day…

  • Mitai Māori Village

    Rotorua

    This family-run outfit offers a popular three-hour evening event with a concert, hāngi and glowworm bush walk. The experience starts with the arrival of a…

  • Gabba

    Brisbane

    You can cheer both AFL football and interstate and international cricket at the Gabba in Woolloongabba, south of Kangaroo Point. If you’re new to cricket,…

  • Australian Ballet

    Melbourne

    More than 50 years old, Melbourne-based Australian Ballet performs traditional and new works in the Arts Centre and around the country. Take an hour-long…

  • Optus Stadium

    Perth

    Perth's new 60,000-seat riverside stadium and its surrounding, family-friendly park (think playground, BBQs, sculptures) opened in January 2018. Big…

  • Wheeler Centre

    Melbourne

    Set up by Lonely Planet founders Maureen and Tony Wheeler to showcase 'books, writing and ideas', this centre has become an important part of the city's…

  • Aura

    Victoria

    Launched in early 2019, the sound-and-light show at Sovereign Hill tells the story of the Indigenous Wadawurrung before launching into the discovery of…

  • Metro Arts Centre

    Brisbane

    This downtown venue hosts community theatre, local dramatic pieces, dance and art shows. It’s an effervescent spot for a taste of Brisbane’s creative…

  • Melbourne Recital Centre

    Melbourne

    This building may look like a framed piece of giant honeycomb, but it’s actually home (or hive?) to the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra (www.mco.org.au), with…

  • Adelaide Festival Centre

    Adelaide

    The hub of performing arts in SA, this crystalline white Festival Centre opened in June 1973, four proud months before the Sydney Opera House! The State…

  • Melbourne Symphony Orchestra

    Melbourne

    The MSO has a broad reach: while not afraid to be populist (it's done sell-out performances with Burt Bacharach and Kiss), it usually performs classical…

  • Cherry

    Melbourne

    In 2019 Melbourne's most legendary live-rock bar had to vacate its divey AC/DC Lane basement, ending up a few blocks away in this heritage-listed 19th…

  • Comic’s Lounge

    Melbourne

    There's stand-up featuring Melbourne’s best-known funny people most nights of the week here. If you like to live dangerously, Tuesday's when professional…

  • Forum

    Melbourne

    One of the city’s most atmospheric live-music venues, the Forum does double duty as a cinema during the Melbourne International Film Festival. The…

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