Stage
The Mousetrap – long-running Agatha Christie whodunnit
17 February – 26 March at Comedy Theatre
As one of Christie’s rare forays into theatre, The Mousetrap has been in near-constant production since its West End premiere in 1952. Somewhat astonishingly, it has avoided its twists and reveals seeping out into the pop culture consciousness thanks to a pre-social media form of spoiler-shaming that decades of audiences have respectfully observed. But whoever gone done it, chances are high that once rumbled, they’ll put on an evil voice and cackle something about how they’d do it again, damn you.
Nosferatu – vampiric stage adaptation
10 – 26 February at Hamer Hall, Southbank
Bram Stoker’s widow thought FW Murnau’s unofficial film adaptation of her husband’s famed novel Dracula was parasitic and tried to get it banned. Not that audiences cared much – they were too busy getting the bejesus scared out of them. Malthouse Theatre, who’ve shown a predilection for stage adaptations of iconic films, are sending the ghastly bloodsucker to Tassie, to the fictional mining town of Bluewater. They’ve sexed the vampire up too, casting The White Princess hottie Jacob Collins-Levy.
& Juliet – Shakespeare musical
26 February – 9 April at Regent Theatre
It’s hard to describe this pop jukebox musical without making it sound unhinged – but that’s kind of the point. Written by Schitt’s Creek’s David West Read, & Juliet gives the eponymous star of Shakespeare’s classic a new life after her death – and packs that life with parties, love triangles, queer realisations and the music of Max Martin, the super-producer behind the biggest pop hits in recent history. From Broadway via the West End, it’s an inventive, clever and funny fever dream, with music from Katy Perry, Britney Spears, the Backstreet Boys and Ariana Grande.
Sunday – re-imagining of Heidi founder
Until 18 February at Melbourne Theatre Company
One of the country’s most revered and fetishised arts patrons, Sunday Reed has been the focus of gossip and scandal since she and her husband John set up what became the Heide group in outer-suburban Melbourne. She had a sultry affair with Sidney Nolan, adopted Joy Hester’s child Sweeney, and eventually took her own life. Playwright Anthony Weigh weighs in with a fantasy of his own in this major-stage adaptation, starring the luminous Nikki Shiels. Contemporary art has nothing on the modernists.
Prima Facie – acclaimed Australian play
Until 25 March at Arts Centre Melbourne
Former lawyer Susie Miller’s much-lauded play is back on our shores after a sold-out run on London’s West End and before it heads to Broadway with Jodie Comer in the show’s solo role. In the Melbourne Theatre Company’s production, Sheridan Harbridge is returning to play Tessa, a defence lawyer who learns firsthand how broken the legal system is when she becomes a victim of sexual assault.
Tickets in February currently sold out; keep an eye out for resales
Visual arts
Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, Muse – NGV’s latest fashion blockbuster
Until 16 April at National Gallery of Victoria
Alexander McQueen once said: “If you want to know me, just look at my work.” With 120 pieces and more than 80 artworks going on display at the NGV’s new show, you’ll never be better placed to understand the mind of the late fashion designer, who died in 2010. The NGV has been acquiring McQueen’s provocative and technically astounding designs since 1995, just three years after he founded his label in London. This promises to be a showstopper – dress to the nines for this one.
How I See It: Blak Art and Film – interrogating Indigenous representation
Until 19 February at Australian Centre for the Moving Image
Come for the air conditioning, stay for the exhibition. Acmi’s summer program interrogates how First Peoples have been historically represented on our screens, with eight Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander creatives using installation, documentary, photography and video games to dream up new futures. In addition, there will be screenings of films from the US, Philippines and Senegal that explore cultural identity; a one-off music video-inspired dance workshop led by choreographer Amrita Hepi (for $25 you can learn how to move like Rihanna and Beyoncé); and an art workshop run by the the team behind Australia’s first Aboriginal-led video game, Future Folklore.
Live music
Marlon Williams – Māori disco bops
18 February at Palais theatre, St Kilda
With gentle strums, a newly sunny disposition and that voice which could make any listener weak at the knees, Marlon Williams’s third solo album My Boy is about as balmy as they come. “I can’t help but write dark songs most of the time,” he told Guardian Australia, “so I set up the world around me to make sure I kept it upbeat.” It’s the musical equivalent of laying in a hammock, full of distinctively Māori guitar plucks. Let it all wash over you at the Palais.
Vieux Farka Touré – the Hendrix of the Sahara
24 February at Northcote Social Club
The son of the late legendary Ali Farka Touré – who popularised the hypnotic desert blues style in the west – picked up where his dad left off, playing electric guitar and adding bass and drums. Fresh from a recent collaboration with Texan psychedelic rockers Khruangbin on a tribute album to his father, the Malian guitarist and singer is now on an epic sweep of Australia with his full band. Expect songs from his back catalogue, as well as his most recent solo album, Les Racines (“the roots”), on which he reconnects with the traditional Songhai music of Mali’s north.
Sugababes – the original trio, reunited
24 February at Margaret Court Arena
Long-time fans of Sugababes know that the UK pop trio is basically the modern-day Ship of Theseus: if you replace all the members of a girl group over two decades, are they still the same band? Luckily, such philosophical quandaries will not plague this comeback tour with the original Sugababes, Mutya, Keisha, and Siobhan, in their first Australian headline shows. If you close your eyes as they – inevitably – play Push the Button, you can pretend it’s 2005 again and nothing bad ever happened.
Julia Jacklin – jangly tunes from Australia’s finest
28 February and 1 March at Forum Melbourne
During the writing process of her latest album Pre-Pleasure, Julia Jacklin left her instrument of choice – the guitar – to go tinkle some ivories for a change. The result is an impossibly jangly record, where everything from her Catholic upbringing to a cheeky plea for a lover to stop smoking is given the toe-tapping treatment. This is music for waltzing down the street, headphone volume turned up – or better yet, experienced at full blast live. “I just needed there to be a bit of joy,” Jacklin told Guardian Australia – and it shows.
Crystalline Resonance – Final Fantasy piano concert
27 February at Melbourne Recital Centre
If you don’t know, Final Fantasy is a bestselling Japanese video game franchise (more than 150m units sold) known for its rich visuals, high drama and opulent, majestic musical scores. Fans can celebrate all three with this piano concert in one of Melbourne’s most beautiful venues, with musicians accompanied by a projection of the most memorable moments of every game in the franchise so far (we’re up to 15 now).
Parties and festivals
St Kilda Festival – bayside tunes
18 – 19 February at St Kilda foreshore
With over four decades of history, St Kilda Festival is one of those rarities: a free music festival with a lineup that’s actually good. Christine Anu headlines this year’s First Nations program on the Saturday, and imperishable pub rockers Hoodoo Gurus top the Sunday bill, joined by dance duo Confidence Man – whose frenetic, loose-jointed stylings will inevitably transform the foreshore into a rave cave of epic proportions.
Moonlight Cinema – starry, starry movie nights
Until 26 March at Royal Botanic Gardens
Watching screen stars under the stars is the stuff of the Australian summer, and Moonlight Cinema is back with an (almost-nightly) program of new blockbusters and retro favourites. Pet pooches are also invited, with plush bean beds and canine movie snacks available for purchase.
