By Jed Lanyon
The cosy Lilydale Athenaeum Theatre will be throwing open its doors for several shows this winter.
The Wisdom of Eve, a drama by Mary Orr and directed by Katie-Jane Amey, will run from 23 May to 8 June, with matinees on Sundays 26 May and 2 June, and Saturday 8 June.
The theatre will also be showing Picnic at Hanging Rock from 15 to 31 August, with matinees on Sundays 18 and 25 and Saturday 31 August.
Picnic at Hanging Rock is a mystery drama adapted by Tom Wright, based on the book by Joan Lindsay, directed by Helen Ellis.
Over at Healesville’s The Memo, Indigenous performers from around Australia will perform Mission Songs Project on Tuesday 8 July.
Mission Songs Project is an initiative to revive contemporary Australian Indigenous songs from 1900 to 1999.
Opera Australia is reimagining Rossini’s The Barber of Seville for children, bringing the classic comedy of errors and romance to The Memo on Saturday 13 July.
This interpretation of the famous opera has been designed to introduce kids to classical music and to teach them about history.
Other events at The Memo include The Badger Creek Women’s Choir, who have been singing together for the past six years.
This eclectic group of women perform a mixture of soul, Celtic, country and good old Aussie rock.
They are rocking the three-part harmonies and they have a few solo numbers thrown in for good measure.
The 25-voice choir will be playing at The Memo on 15 June.
Multiple award-winning musical The Sapphires tells the inspiring true story of four Indigenous women as they leave regional Australia to sing to the troops in the Vietnam War.
This show-stopping spectacular follows the adventures of four brave Yorta Yorta women in a time of turmoil and will be on show at The Memo on Wednesday 5 June.
Degas: Passion to Perfection journeys from the streets of Paris to the heart of a superb exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, whose extensive collection of Degas’ works is the most representative in Britain.
With exclusive access to view rare and diverse works, this film tells a fascinating story of Degas’ pursuit for perfection through both experimentation with new techniques and lessons learnt from studying the past masters.
Degas: Passion to Perfection will be showing at the Upper Yarra Arts Centre on 7 and 9 June and at The Memo on 14 and 16 June.
