Wealth begets power, which begets more wealth,’ Joseph Stiglitz has argued.

Get acquainted with the 2018 Emerging Cultural Leaders (ECL) at our annual industry showcase and celebration.

So you think you know Hamlet? A hilarious rethink of Shakespeare’s classic tragedy – only this time Ophelia gets all the best lines.

This savage new performance work from the award-winning team behind GROUND CONTROL (Next Wave 2016) and ANGRY SEXX (Melbourne Fringe 2014), asks how do we tear down the monument of masculinity, and what tools can we find in the dirt?

“Extremely funny and often heartbreaking…both seriously thought-provoking and seriously funny theatre.” Exeunt, on The Eradication of Schizophrenia in Western Lapland

The program offers young people the opportunity to work alongside professional artists in a collaborative way, through multi-artform workshops and mentoring.

Part rock concert, part side-splitting comedy and smashed together with acrobatic punk anarchy!

Who are the critics, and what are the criticisms, of the theoretical and legal framework of human rights? And what does it mean when our elected representatives openly flout our obligations?

Artist Ben Quilty and writer Richard Flanagan join The School of Life to talk about the meaning of home and the power of vulnerable voices. 

Funny, moving, surprising and engaging, Queerstories has been selling out shows in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, bringing storytellers from all walks of life to the stage.

Hear from ten brilliant writers – both established and emerging – who have made Melbourne home for either a short time or a lifetime

Usually you wouldn’t drop ‘the C-word’ into a nice dinner conversation, but at this Supper Club it will be on everyone’s lips: it’s time to talk about cancer.

Join us for a night of absurdity, wit, and behind-the-scenes stories, at the Athenaeum Theatre.

One of the most-read and famous children’s books of all time, ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ emerges off the page in a masterful theatrical experience for the whole family.

A master of optical illusion, M. C. Escher combines different perspectives in his prints, presenting visual contradictions that have long intrigued audiences.

When referring to William Wegman’s first muse, his dog Man Ray, critic Laurence Wieder asked ‘does Man Ray understand his place in art?’

A fun evening for all to celebrate Christmas, the festive season and the community.

The magical annual carols by candlelight event is on again in December with roaming performers, children activities and stage entertainment for the whole family.

Bring a picnic to this FREE event and celebrate Christmas with your community!

Join us for our FREE annual Community Christmas Festival

Carols by Kingston is a great chance to get together with friends and family before the holidays and relax in the park and feel the Christmas cheer!

New time and format for this Sunday afternoon family twilight concert 2018 program currently in development.

Malala will take audiences inside her remarkable story; “I had a choice: I could live a quiet life or I could make the most of this new life I had been given.”  Malala Yousafzai

Tis the season for festive fun so bring the family along to share the spirit at the City of Whittlesea Carols by Candlelight.

Get into the Christmas Spirit with this family friendly event for the whole family.

Wodonga Brass presents this traditional Carols by Candlelight.

Celebrate the festive season with a free evening of carols and entertainment under the stars

Specifically designed music making session for children who are deaf or hard of hearing

Celebrate Australia Day with this wonderful night of entertainment and you can see the night go out with a bang with a stunning 10-minute fireworks finale.

When you find yourself empty, how do you start again?

‘Lucky?’ explores the history and effects of gold-mining and the pursuit of wealth in Australia through a contemporary lens.

Experience the story of the Ticonderoga right where she anchored in 1852.

It’s a controversial name, not a controversial message.

A two-part project celebrating Wurundjeri music, language and stories.

Bring your flags, friends and an industrial-sized box of tissues, as we share some raw reflections and reasons to rejoice on this historic anniversary.

Australia’s premier queer arts and cultural festival returns in 2019, running from 19 January to 10 February.

Audiences will hold their breath as the trio of acrobats face their fears, overcoming them through teamwork and friendship.

(LIMITED TIX!) See John connect with the other side as he returns to visit Melbourne live. There will be question and answer sessions and messages from loved ones on the other side and more.

What happens to our bodies when we die? Do our bodies define who and what we are – or are they a vessel for something more?

This event recognises and celebrates the genuine impact young people have made to the biggest social and economic challenges of our time.

Funny, moving, surprising and engaging, Queerstories has been selling out shows in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, bringing storytellers from all walks of life to the stage.

The audacious power plays and tumultuous love affairs of the last Queen of Egypt have captivated artists, musicians, filmmakers and writers for more than 2000 years.

This FREE community event is open and accessible to all and is a fun family friendly day out full of entertainment, interactive arts experiences, sporting activities, music, dancing and good times!

2018’s Slutwalk Melbourne fundraiser is here and we’re going to trick or treat you to some spooky fun.

Diversity Rocks is a 1-day inclusive music festival, which will be held at Courthouse Youth Arts, a contemporary arts venue in Geelong that features a gallery, theatre, and courtyard/laneway performance spaces.

Anne Summers is a person of phenomenal energy and copious talent. She’s an editor, a publisher, a writer, an activist and, for many, the godmother of Australian feminism.

What is the relationship between nature and our emotional wellbeing?

For 21 years Weave has pioneered dance and inclusive theatre for performers with a diverse range of disability. This photographic exhibition is a retrospective of their rich liberating history.

CONNECTED Art Exhibition Celebration is a free event for the people of Victoria

The audacious power plays and tumultuous love affairs of the last Queen of Egypt have captivated artists, musicians, filmmakers and writers for more than 2000 years.

Celebrate all the fun, fabulous and quirky talents that make Whitehorse great!

Raw. Honest. Brave. Theatre. Circus. Dance.

Get ringside for a rare theatrical combo: engrossing storytelling paired with the visceral thrill of live boxing.

The Storytime program is for children aged 3-5 years, their parents and carers.

A free participatory workshop with award-winning theatre ensemble, Rawcus.

The audacious power plays and tumultuous love affairs of the last Queen of Egypt have captivated artists, musicians, filmmakers and writers for more than 2000 years.

Laser Kiwi combines high-calibre circus with unforgettable physical comedy.

LIMITED TIX – Dream Night give kids with a disability opportunity to connect with animals and take part in fun activities in a safe and controlled environment.

The event Artabilty is an art exhibition for people of all abilities. 

In this panel discussion, we’ll discuss some ideas for marking LGBTI+ History Month in Australia. We’ll also discuss the work of Australians – including activists, archivists and academics – who have shaped our queer past and present.

Polly Borland’s more recent works see her exploring more abstract and surreal imagery.

Cher in concert

There’s no denying her commitment to the human rights framework, and her belief that Australia needs its own Bill of Rights.

In her debut solo show, Tracey explores what its like to take risks when you spend most of your time worried about the undetectable carbon monoxide omissions in your living room.

Get ready for circus, dance, comedy, cabaret and chaos from the best human beings they can mash together.

Sarah brings you a haunting, captivating, visceral experience of the beauty of difference in this one woman show.

The Vortons are devouring the universe and only a bewildered crew of no-hopers – led by a hundred-year-old playwright – can save the day.

Auslan interpreters will be present for pre and post match entertainment at the MCG.

(Limited Tickets!) On the eve of her wedding, Sophie’s quest to discover the identity of her father brings three men from her mother’s past back to the island they last visited 20 years ago.

RACE. CLASS. SEX. DRUGS. VIOLENCE. INCARCERATION. POVERTY.
THE PSYCHIC MAELSTROM OF COLONISATION.

Enter the raucous, radical, wildly funny world of Queerstories and enjoy an unexpected tale or two from a diverse line-up of stars and strangers.

Focusing on the nature of celebrity and the role of gender in modern politics ‘antony//cleopatra’ is a pop art queer theory mashup, acting as both tribute and interrogation of Shakespeare’s version of history and femininity

Join a diverse line up of stars and strangers for a night of queer stories, unexpected tales of lives well lived and battles fought, pride, prejudice, love and humour, hosted by Maeve Marsden.

This multimedia poetic experience investigates the steps foraged to elevate our voices then and now.

The much loved book by Roald Dahl bounds off the page in this spectacular live show.

Little Languages Program – more info coming soon

Push your practice to the limits, be guided through the process of creating extraordinary experimental work for children using Live Art principles as a toolbox for creation.

What would you do if you could make people nicer? The Good Person Recipe combines food, receipts and a touch of salt to cook up an intimate play about one waitress’ struggle to preserve her goodness.

The relationship we have with colour is as much social and political as it is sensorial and emotional. It is sometimes selective, sometimes unavoidable, but always symbolic.

In celebration of National Week of Deaf People (23-29 September) Auslan interpreters will be onsite at Healesville Sanctuary between 11am-3pm each day of the week

Join us for a Fierce, Fevered, and Effing-unbelievable Party. Wear what you want, dance how you choose. Let’s Get F*NKD.

Don’t stop talking honey because we sure won’t! #ECFF is here and wants you to be part of the conversation.

OFFICE will give a public lecture focusing on the street as a public space, questioning its role and value in our rapidly changing society.

My Island Dream (MID) is back in 2018 and it’s going to be epic. This year we are going to have the biggest PASIFIKA celebration brought to you by the young people of Westside Pasifika for the young peoples of the West!

Rothschild will explore her interest in the social aspect of sculpture and play, along with the influence in minimalism, classical architecture and popular culture

This year’s Coburg Carnivale will have an exciting program of participatory and live art experiences that promise to tantalise the senses.

Join in a Deaf dance party, or bust a move in the world’s smallest nightclub at Melbourne Fringe event, A Weekend for Everybody.

Sarah brings you a haunting, captivating, visceral experience of the beauty of difference in this one woman show.

Liane Moriarty writes smart, sexy suburban satire – and it’s made her a huge, if reluctant, star.

The Australian GLBTIQ Multicultural Council (AGMC)

Have You Tried Yoga is a window into the invisible or very visible life of those living with chronic illness and disability.

*No knowledge of the TV series Friends is required to enjoy this show. For those devotees, this is the one that you didn’t see coming…

The Storytime program is for children aged 3-5 years, their parents and carers.

Join us for this free conversation at the Wheeler Centre, as we delve into the fine balance of art and activism – from creativity and accessibility to strategy.

What role can art play in transforming democracies? How can theatre and performance act as a vehicle to test drive new realities? And what happens when children are not students – but researchers and collaborators?

Sofie has had numerous appearances at not only the Melbourne Fringe but also in Edinburgh.

Experience Melbourne’s biggest professionally staged song and dance phenomenon, the Victorian State Schools Spectacular, a dazzling arena production guaranteed to entertain the whole family.  

Blasted will give Malthouse Theatre audiences the chance to experience the power and controversy of Sarah Kane, and the play that shook the world.

Experience Melbourne’s biggest professionally staged song and dance phenomenon, the Victorian State Schools Spectacular, a dazzling arena production guaranteed to entertain the whole family.  

Baldessin/Whiteley: Parallel Visions is a visually exciting and innovative blockbuster exhibition that brings together for the first time the work of these two giants of Australian art.

Sofie has had numerous appearances at not only the Melbourne Fringe but also in Edinburgh.

Set in the legendary city during the roaring “jazz hot” 20s, Chicago tells the story of two rival vaudevillian murderesses locked up in Cook County Jail.

Bring in the fembots! The sex slaves, domestic servants, ideal women! Enter the realm of robot ethics in this one-woman, one roomba show about sex, technology, and man-made women.

Adam Hills has always put his best foot forward which has earned the witty and charming comedian (and now author) adoring fans all over the world. 

It’s a book of short fiction, memoir and poetry by authors of various ethnicities, cultures, genders, sexualities and abilities.

Erth’s prehistoric creatures are unmistakably ‘alive’ and mostly friendly, in this fun, educational and unique performance that will delight all audiences from ages 5 years and up.  

Baldessin/Whiteley: Parallel Visions is a visually exciting and innovative blockbuster exhibition that brings together for the first time the work of these two giants of Australian art.

An annual sketch comedy show written, directed and performed by students that has been running for over 40 years

Modern society is deeply attuned to the issue of consent. We refuse to turn a blind eye to the pervasive nature of predatory behaviour and to the intractable statistic that one in five women will experience sexual violence.

Erth’s prehistoric creatures are unmistakably ‘alive’ and mostly friendly, in this fun, educational and unique performance that will delight all audiences from ages 5 years and up.  

Melbourne Theatre Company  2019 Season Launch.

A Future For All of Us – Melbourne – Hosted by Senator Richard Di Natale

Braiding Knowledge is an interactive day-long forum

2:20 AM is drawn from Lister’s own experience of losing a family member to suicide, along with real stories of people directly impacted by suicide.

Explore the format of hypothetical disaster drills and ask: What if a rapidly spreading contagion threatened Melbourne?

Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist, Maureen Dowd, talks frankly with her friend and colleague, Julia Baird, about gender and politics in the age of Trump.

The iconic Australian musical, The Boy from Oz, turns 20 in 2018, and to celebrate we’re staging a new production. 

Sharing stories from Melbourne’s west, Footscray Community Arts Centre’s West Writers Group will exhibit the works of their collective.

Biennial showcase of short student written works

Spice Trails is an immersive live art series of performative dinners and installations created by artist Rasha Tayeh.

Celebrate the 80th Birthday of this library. 

One-on-one micro-performances that dance around questions, insights and predictions of our personal and collective futures.

Blending lyrical, rapid-fire text with poetic imagery and domestic drama, Oil Babies is a dangerous, pithy and at times comedic work that speaks directly to the concerns we hold now.

The Storytime program is for children aged 3-5 years, their parents and carers.

Australia’s answer to Sons of Anarchy sends Ryan Corr, Abbey Lee and Aaron Pedersen into a brutal bikie turf war.

The A1 Darebin Art Salon celebrates art, expression and creativity within our community. Works must be recent or new and artists must live, work or study in the City of Darebin. Works must be no larger than A1 size.

Successful politician Sir Robert Chiltern has it all – money, power and the love of his adoring wife. But when the mysterious Mrs Cheveley threatens to expose a dark secret from his past, will his reputation, career and marriage be ruined?

A free event exploring cinema’s stylised visions of future cities, from the machinery of Metropolis to the mind-bending experiments of Dark City.

A free event featuring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander filmmakers discussing their approach to cinema in front and behind the camera.

Panellists include Jack Charles, Beck Cole, Rob Collins, Cecilia Lewis, Curtis Taylor and Linda Yarrowin; moderated by Albert Wiggan.