The local events and shows we’re excited about right now. Get your calendar out – there’s plenty to choose from.
We’re truly getting back into the swing of things and there are big developments in Geelong’s performing arts industry this May.
There’ll be something for everyone this month with the huge roster of talent heading our way thanks to the good humans at the Geelong Arts Centre – musicals, plays, stand-up comedy, plus a whole lot more.
There’s no shortage of shows to see and so to help you out, we have collated a guide of the best-goings-on for the month of May, helping you plan your calendar accordingly. Thank us later.
Stay up to date with what’s happening in and around the region here.
Become The One
When: Tuesday, May 2 until Saturday, May 7 from 7:30pm
Where: Studio 4
Taking to the Geelong Arts Centre this May, ‘Become The One’ explores why a footballer would choose to remain closeted, and why their openly gay partner would choose to accept it.
Winner of the 2018 Playtime Award for New Writing, Become The One by Adam Fawcett is a funny, smart and challenging drama exploring the true meaning of bravery and what it might take to do the right thing – as a lover, as a high-profile sportsman, as a human being – to become the one.
When Noah (Mason Gasowski), a young queer man, captures the attention of Tom (Chris Asimos), a celebrated AFL player nearing the end of his career, sparks immediately fly. But as the season progresses and their relationship grows, questions around identity, agency and our devotion to hyper-masculinity begin to surface, forcing us to consider what happens to love when good intentions and patience aren’t enough anymore.
Weaving a clever tapestry of comedy, drama and romance, the play repositions the typical “closeted sportsman” narrative by asking its audience to consider: What if it was the partner, not the athlete, that became the driving force behind dismantling the heteronormativity of Australia’s national sport? What might they – and that journey – look like?
Hailed as ‘heart wrenching, raw and categorically brave’, this is not to be missed.
Tickets here.
Professional Development – The Locker Room
When: Friday, May 6 at 2:30pm
Where: Geelong Arts Centre
Yes, this is in May but it’s something to get excited about. Here, guests can explore the structure, style, casting and character dynamics of Geelong Art Centre’s Our Season 2022 show, BECOME THE ONE.
Join the cast and creatives of Lab Kelpie’s Become The One during this 90-minute, hands-on workshop exploring the structure and style, casting and character dynamics, performance, and how to touch on a serious subject manner in a real and accessible way.
Designed to educate, entertain and enhance the experience of the show, learn how to touch on the serious subject matter in a real and accessible way using practical exercises and group work.
Tickets here.
Kasey Chambers & Busby Marou
When: Sunday, May 8 from 7:30pm
Where: Costa Hall
A friendship born of their shared love of making music, telling stories, beach campfires and fishing, Kasey Chambers, Tom Busby and Jeremy Marou will bring their jam sessions to life onstage for the ultimate singalong.
For this special performance, each artist will perform their own setlist before joining together for a truly mesmerising finale.
It’s been 20 years since Kasey’s ARIA #1 and 7 x platinum album ‘Barricades and Brickwalls’ was released and featured the smash hit single ‘Not Pretty Enough’ which also hit #1 on the ARIA Singles chart at the same time, a first for any Australian artist. Audience members can expect many of the album’s songs to feature in her set in celebration of the milestone.
Likewise, Busby Marou has gained the reputation as one of Australia’s hardest working live bands best known for their distinctly Australian storytelling and gifted musicianship. The duo won their third APRA songwriting award earlier this year for ‘Over Drinking Over You’ from their ARIA Top 5 album ‘The Great Divide’, their 3rd Top 5 release. Jeremy, a proud Torres Strait Islander and Tom, a patriotic Queenslander have been ever-present on our screens spruiking all things great about their home state as part of Tourism and Events Queensland’s ‘Good To Go’ campaign.
It’s hard to think of two artists who have integrated themselves into the hearts and minds of the Australian music-loving public more than Kasey Chambers and Busby Marou. The tour will be a special series of shows that bring together great friends who just happen to write incredible songs and love to share a story.
Tickets here.
On By Circa
When: Thursday, May 12 from 7:30pm
Where: Costa Hall
Having forged a reputation as the most artistically audacious circus on the planet over the last two decades, Circa Contemporary Circus will dazzle and delight with its new show On By Circa this May as part of the beloved Geelong Arts Centre’s 2022 season.
Created by artistic director Yaron Lifschitz and the Circa Ensemble – one of the world’s leading performance companies – the show has been designed around exploring the gift of weight that lies at the heart of acrobatics. The simple act of giving and accepting another’s mass is transformed into a profound meditation about beauty, loss and trust.
To achieve this alchemy, the stage elements are reduced to their most essential. On By Circa has just seven extraordinary acrobats, a score by Melbourne composer Jethro Woodward and a striking lighting design. Layering complex acrobatic sequences with sharp moments of close up intimacy, the ensemble creates a stripped back circus of the heart that’s uncompromisingly bold and unashamedly athletic, truly delivering a sensational live performance.
Recommended for ages 12 and above (and running for just 70 minutes), On By Circa offers a fun and impressive night out for the whole family on a chilly Thursday night. With productions ranging from large scale operas and vast choreographic spectacles to site-specific adventures and intimate chamber works, the breadth of Circa Contemporary Circus’ vision is unparalleled.
Hitting the Costa Hall stage next Thursday 12 May, On By Circa is a bold and thrilling contemporary circus performance, providing a mesmerising stripped back homage to the art of acrobatics.
Tickets here.
Lano & Woodley – Moby Dick
When: Saturday, May 14 from 7:30pm
Where: Costa Hall
This year, the iconic duo of Lano & Woodley are back with a whale of a show.
Hailed as ‘two of our greatest virtuosos of comedy’, the duo are heading our way with their brand new show ‘Moby Dick’ – their most ambitious show yet.
Moby Dick is one of the greatest stories ever told, with adventure, revenge, madness, religion and the fury and majesty of nature, all served with a side of whaling. Will Captain Ahab’s hatred of his nemesis Moby Dick send them headlong into total destruction? Will Colin’s long held hatred of Frank, end in the destruction of his dickhead nemesis?
Together Lano & Woodley have made some of Australia’s most loved comedy shows. Their love/hate relationship has fuelled countless ovations and slews of awards, finding new fans and devoted followers everywhere they go. One thing is for sure, as Frank and Colin set sail with their new show, they will fill the stage with an hour of sublime, inventive and ridiculous comedy.
If there ever was a year to escape into the innocent imaginations of Lano & Woodley, it’s this one.
Tickets here.
Guess How Much I Love You
When: Saturday, May 14 at 10am, 12pm and 3pm
Where: Studio 4
In this play by Richard Tulloch, join the enchanting adventure of Little and Big Nutbrown Hare as they discover the magic and colour of the seasons, in a dazzling new stage adaptation of Sam McBratney’s beloved Guess How Much I Love You books.
This playful story of love and nature unfolds on stage in a show that’s fun for the whole family, with beautiful puppetry, music and laughter for children aged 3 years and up.
Brought to life by CDP Kids, the team behind the Australian tours of The Gruffalo, The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show and Spot, this family favourite will excite, educate and entertain new readers and first-time theatre-goers.
More here.
Artist Accelerate – Working with Lighting
When: Thursday, May 19 at 4:30pm
Where: Online Forum
With an aim to support artists in building a pathway to professional artistic practice the Artists Accelerate professional development speaker series has been specifically created as a part of the Creative Engine initiatives for artists looking for efficient, effective and engaging ways to further develop their skills practice from like-minded industry leaders.
In ‘Working With Lighting’, hear from practising artist, writer and director Kit Brookman, on how he has learned to work with lighting to enhance his work. He will share his perspectives on the best way to communicate your design requirements, and how to embed technical awareness into your development. Joined by award-winning lighting designer Richard Vabre, learn from two industry leaders about the world of theatrical lighting.
This inspirational 45 minute professional development session will include an opportunity for Q&A at the end of the session.
All events in the Artists Accelerate professional development series are free. Registration is essential here.
The Robertson Brothers 60’s Variety TV Show
When: Thursday, May 19 at 8m
Where: Costa Hall
Do you dream of reliving the good old days? Well, don’t miss The Robertson Brothers 1960’s TV Variety Show with special guest Simon Brook McLachlan from the original cast of the hit musical Jersey Boys.
The Robertson Brothers are back with a brand new show. Take a trip down memory lane with this amazing interactive live TV variety show featuring the hits from The Seekers, Bee Gees, Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, Neil Sedaka, and The Everly Brothers!
When designing this new live touring show, The Robertson Brothers decided to reinvent the magic and diversity of the old-school 1960’s variety TV shows. With an amazing multimedia presentation, expect to be entertained by many of the Classic Hits from the ’60s. Through the prism of the Variety TV show format, you’ll travel back in time to embrace and celebrate all the hits of these 60’s Music Legends.
You’ll be singing, dancing, laughing and crying to ‘Georgy Girl’, ‘Morning Town Ride’, ‘I’ll Never Find Another You’, ‘Oh Carol’, ‘Calendar Girl’, ‘Happy Birthday Sweet 16’, ‘Spicks and Specks’, ‘To Love Somebody’, ‘Massachusetts’, ‘I Started A Joke’, ‘Got To Get A Message To You’, ‘Sherry’, ‘Walk Like A Man’, ‘Big Girls Don’t Cry’, ‘Let’s Hang On’, ‘Bye Bye Love’, ‘Wake Up Little Susie’, ‘All I Have To Do Is Dream’, ‘Cathy’s Clown’, ‘Bus Stop’, plus so many more in this celebration of your favourite 60’s Superstars!
Tickets here.
Unsung
When: Saturday, May 21 at 1pm and 7:30pm
Where: Costa Hall
Looking for the perfect Mother’s Day gift? Why not give mum the gift of entertainment with a celebration of our pioneering women of Aussie Pop and Rock.
On a hot summer’s day in 1965, Merle Thornton and Rosalie Bogner walked into the public bar of the Regatta Hotel in Brisbane, calmly chained themselves to the bar rail, and ordered a beer. What happened next would change the course of Australian history – and a little less obviously – the course of music in Australia for women, forever.
In this performance, join award-winning cabaret powerhouses Amelia Ryan and Libby O’Donovan, in a rollicking, raucous celebration of songs and stories from 1960s Australia. Hear the likes of Lynne Randell, Little Patti, Judy Stone, Marcie Jones, Margret Roadknight, Wendy Saddington, and Alison McCallum, in an uplifting and nostalgic hour that pays homage to the women who blazed the trails for generations to come.
Through history, heart, and hilarity, they bring these incredible women – and their music – out of the sidelines, and into their rightful place in Aussie music history!
Tickets here.
Celeste Barber – Fine, Thanks
When: Friday, May 27 at 7:30pm
Where: Costa Hall
After spending most of this year stuck at home, Australia’s Queen of Comedy Celeste Barber is ready to hit the road again with her brand-new tour, ‘Fine, Thanks’.
With nothing but time to write, refine and then re-refine ‘Fine, Thanks’ over the past 18 months, the COVID-safe show explores and exploits everything from celebrity sex toys to why hot girls can’t dance and details the giddy euphoria and brutal devastation of being invited to Coachella – the same year it was cancelled.
“I’ve been stuck inside staring at a wall for the best part of two years, so trust me when I say I’m ready to pack a suitcase, reacquaint myself with what the inside of a plane looks like and get back on stage,” Celeste says.
“Everyone in my house is sick to death of listening to me bang on so it’s time to find some new ears to chew off. Plus mama’s got bills to pay.”
With an infectious personality, Barber (an acclaimed actor, author, comedian and podcaster) has become one of Australia’s most popular performers in recent years, with her social media following exploding to a huge 8.5M followers. Subverting the glossy world of Instagram from within, Barber regularly treats her followers to recreations of celebrity and supermodel clips as part of her wildly-successful #celestechallengeaccepted posts. She has posted hilarious parodies of everyone from Rihanna to the Kardashians, often getting praised from the stars who made the original video.
She even turned Challenge Accepted into a one-woman show that premiered in Sydney in 2017, toured the UK and Europe and enjoyed three sell-out seasons in the US, including being filmed for her first Showtime special. Her 2018 memoir, Challenge Accepted, was shortlisted for the ABIA 2019 Biography Book of the Year. She has a much-loved podcast, is a regular on TV shows around the globe and was Host of the Fire Fight Australia benefit concert in February 2020 that raised over $11 million for bushfire affected communities.
Get your much-needed fix of fun at Celeste Barber’s Fine, Thanks tour in 2022!
Tickets here.
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Echoes Of Pink Floyd – A Journey Through Time
When: Saturday, May 28 at 8pm
Where: Costa Hall
Australia’s largest scale Pink Floyd concept act Echoes of Pink Floyd announce their “A Journey Through Time” tour.
Audiences will be taken on a musical and visual journey from Pink Floyd’s earliest days as darlings of 1960’s London’s psychedelic underground, all the way to their 1990’s powerhouse performances as the undisputed masters of stadium rock.
With an extensive exploration of the band’s impressive catalogue, the gang from Echoes of Pink Floyd plays all of Pink Floyd’s biggest smash hits, as well as some lovingly hand-picked deep album cuts designed to please the most committed of hard-core fans.
The band’s aim is to authentically replicate the brilliant sights and sounds of one of the world’s greatest progressive rock bands of all time, Pink Floyd. The Adelaide-based tribute has been touring nationally since 2014, with audiences describing the show as “amazingly awesome” and “a musical and visual journey that never disappoints”, whilst also likening them to “the original band”.
Echoes of Pink Floyd has also achieved critical acclaim with the music press describing them as “the next best thing to a genuine Floyd experience” [Bendigo Weekly], “a skilful celebration of the source material” [Upside News – Adelaide] and “a true credit to the original musicians” [Rogue Inc – Perth].
Tickets here.
Last chance, Creative Engine Community Fuel
Less than one week remains to apply to pitch at Geelong Arts Centre’s inaugural Creative Engine Community Fuel event on 9 June!
Want to warm up this winter and contribute to Geelong’s thriving creative scene? Add your financial fuel to our region’s creative fire with Geelong Arts Centre’s Creative Engine ‘Community Fuel’! Community Fuel invites local creatives to pitch their ideas to arts-loving members of the Geelong community. See the impact of the community’s collective fuel instantly, with all money raised from tickets sold awarded to the winning pitch, as well as matched funding from Geelong Arts Centre.
A $10 Community Fuel ticket gets you dinner, live entertainment, and most importantly, a coveted vote for your favourite creative idea! Gather your mates – this is grassroots, community action at its best and the kind of social enterprise that can change lives, hearts, and minds.
The night is dedicated to celebrating and supporting the artistic heart of our clever and creative city, Community Fuel will see the Geelong community come together at our Ryrie Street Level 1 Lounge support a local creative or organisation while also enjoying the best in live and local entertainment over a bowl of soup and a refreshing beverage.
You’ll hear pitches from 3-4 local creatives across a range of artforms and will have the opportunity to ask questions then it’s you who will have the opportunity to collectively fund your favourite project pitched on the night. The final tally will be counted and the winning pitch will be announced, taking home with them the money from the door AND matched funding from Geelong Arts Centre! 100% community funded and supported by Geelong Arts Centre, with 100% of funds going straight to the artists who need it most.
Find out more here.
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Geelong Arts Centre is supported by The Victorian Government through Creative Victoria, Major Artistic Partner Deakin University and Innovation Partner Costa Asset Management.