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2026 Performing Arts Wa Awards Announce Winners Celebrating Excellence In Live Performance From 2025

23/04/2026 Breaking News

The 2026 Performing Arts WA Awards Ceremony, held on Monday 20 April in the Heath Ledger Theatre, celebrated achievement in Western Australian professional live performance in 2025, covering both mainstage and independent performances. Opera Dead Man Walking by Freeze Frame Opera was the biggest winner for the night, taking home five awards, including Outstanding Direction, Outstanding Lighting Design and Best Production.

Black Swan State Theatre Company of WA’s co-production with Belvoir St Theatre August: Osage County by Tracy Letts and independent theatre show Shadow of Doubt by The Blue Room Theatre & Fine Comb Theatre were also popular productions, picking up four awards each.

After Freeze Frame Opera, Black Swan State Theatre Company of WA was the next most awarded company, taking home a total of five awards. The Blue Room Theatre maintained their reputation as a hub for excellent theatre, with 10 awards for shows at the venue. The Lifetime Achievement Award went to veteran stage manager Jenny Poh, for her tireless work within the industry.

The inaugural Ripple Effect Award winner was James Berlyn. James’ tireless and quiet contribution has had a ripple effect to make change and to impact others. In his acceptance speech, James announced the prize money would fund a new artist residency opportunity at his West Berlyn Studios.

The Ripple Effect Award is a new award, to honour the legacy of the late Georgia Malone. A true champion of the arts, her incredible career has left a lasting legacy for the world. With continued funding and support from DCITS and Arts & Culture Trust, the awards continue to be held at Heath Ledger Theatre at State Theatre Centre. The awards themselves featured live performances from MATRIARX and Pam Boland, and were hosted with comedic wit by performers Luke Joseph Ryan & Wyatt Nixon-Lloyd. With a 20+ year history of recognising professional theatre, the Awards include dance, musicals, opera and cabaret across WA. The Awards celebrate the professional live performing arts in Western Australia. They are hosted each year by Artist Relief Fund WA, a charity which supports arts workers experiencing hardship.

Musical Urinetown by Western Sky Projects received the most nominations, up for fourteen separate awards. After Western Sky Projects, Freeze Frame Opera was the most nominated company with 9 nominations. Other big nominees include Co3 Contemporary Dance & The Australian Chamber Orchestra’s dance work IN THE SHADOW OF TIME with eight nominations; The Blue Room Theatre & Tone Lists’s O,D,E also snared eight nominations.

The event was supported by funders and sponsors: DCITS and Arts & Culture Trust WA, Steamworks Arts, CircuitWest, Architecture of Movement, George Kingsley, Media Entertainment & Arts Alliance, Moore Creative Artists, Perth Institute of Contemporary Art, Pigface Books; plus hospitality partners Otherside Brewing and West Cape Howe Wines. More information: www.performingartswaawards.com

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The Bubbles Festival Melbourne 2026

18/04/2026 Breaking News

The Bubbles Festival – a celebration of all things sparkling – is back for 2026! The Festival is organised by The Bubbles Review, a multi-award-winning blog and website devoted to the enjoyment of drinking champagne and sparkling wine. Launched in October 2016 by Melbourne based entrepreneur and best-selling author Natalie Pickett, The Bubbles Review shares information on the people, history, tasting, techniques of making champagne and sparkling wine and creates events and tours so that followers can join in and indulge.

Our immensely popular blogs on sparkling wine really struck a chord, and it brought about the concept of launching The Bubbles Festival featuring a range of sparkling wines from Australia and around the world in one boutique event. The inaugural Bubbles Festival was held in Melbourne in April 2017, and after responding to demand to take the event to other states, since 2021 the festival has been cemented in the events calendar as a national series catering to sold out audiences across the country.

We are excited to be sharing the bubbly love once again. The first event in The Bubbles Festival national series is always Melbourne, we have so many people who came to our first event in 2017 and now come every year.

Our tasting list is different every year and in every city. In Melbourne we love the beautiful sparkling wines produced in Victoria and always seek to include some on our list, along with Aussie sparklings from around the country, and international sparklings including champagne. Each year we showcase favourites from previous years along with new bubbly discoveries.

Patrons purchase a ticket for a two-hour session which includes a chance to meet and engage with producers and distributors of sparkling wine and champagne, and enjoy bubbly tastings, paired with canapés, all at one stylish event. (A VIP upgrade can also be purchased giving extra bonuses and access to a special tasting. $5 from every VIP ticket is donated to our chosen charity in each city.)

Natalie Pickett, the Founder of The Bubbles Review provides an introduction on tasting appreciation. A RIEDEL Champagne tasting glass is given to each attendee, and a curated list of 10 or more tastings of sparkling wine are provided along with canapés and tasting notes.

Tickets are $139 + Booking Fee via Eventbrite. To be held in Melbourne – at Rivers Edge Events – 2 May 2026.
Ticket link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1981941795262

For more information: The Bubbles Festival – The Bubbles Review

There is also VIP Ticket upgrade available for $75 – this includes priority access with a private tasting of a special cuvee prior to doors opening and a RIEDEL Extreme Champagne glass Twin pack valued at $105. $5 from every VIP upgrade ticket is donated to our chosen charity which is the Dine with Heart program with Sacred Heart Mission for Melbourne.

Natalie says “I think that champagne and sparkling wine are one of the joys of life and something to be shared. We love bringing all of these superb sparkling wines together with our followers at The Bubbles Festival”.

There is no other wine event in Australia that showcases a range of sparkling wine in this way.

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The Spooky Men For Celebratory Qld Tour – From 27 May

18/04/2026 Breaking News

Feature-The Spooky Men’s Chorale: 25 Years of Pointless Grandeur - An Anniversary Tour

After a ‘warm up’ concert in Melbourne 3 May, the bearded, hatted, sensational singers celebrate “25 years of Pointless Grandeur” in Brisbane, Ipswich, Toowoomba, Gold Coast, Maleny & Noosa – before dropping into Sydney… then heading overseas for a 28-gig UK tour!

The spooky story so far…
On 4 August 2001, at Eastside Paddington Church, a genial scrum of bearded fellows shuffled onto the stage. How could any of us have known that 25 years later they would still be at it after nearly 1000 gigs, 8 albums, 14 tours of UK/Europe, and the small matter of singlehandedly redefining men’s singing?

But they are. And now, in the grandiose arena of the Enmore Theatre, the Spooky Men will celebrate their birthday with a show not quite like any other they have done. It will be a birthday party, a retrospective, and a showcase of everything they have become. There will be a number of chunky gems from the past, but also the very best pickings from their current spooky tool bag.

“It takes a rare skill to be very silly, thoughtful, and sing in perfect harmony, but the Spooky Men’s Chorale manage to achieve just that.” – The Guardian

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The Spooky Men are not easy to describe: Founded by Stephen Taberner and Inspired by the great Georgian choirs of the Caucasian mountains, they aim to both celebrate and mock masculinity with a unique cocktail of mighty boofiness, charming stupidity, and exquisite tenderness that may well bring a tear to your eye.

Each show is a journey rich with theatrical and storytelling elements, but what is most notable is the humanity that is evoked. No subject is too trivial or weighty for their attention, and such ability to find new musical rooms to explore contributes greatly to their astonishing fan loyalty.

But, says Taberner, there is more: “This show will also offer the chance to join a massed audience choir, The Axis of Spook for a ridiculous musical sensurround experience. There will be special spooky guests, a musical favourites lottery and a massed spooky man finale!” And other surprises, too.

“Gird your loins: this is the one spooky show in the history of spooky shows that you should not miss….”
“Sheer musical excellence – like the ghosts of choristers long gone” Sydney Morning Herald

Iconic, eccentric, lyrical, larrikin… always supremely entertaining… The Spooky Men’s Chorale are very proud to announce their VERY SPOOKY QUEENSLAND TOUR from 27 MAY!

The Spooky Men’s Chorale: 25 Years of Pointless Grandeur – An Anniversary Tour

Melbourne Recital Centre Sun 3 May 7pm

Queensland Tour:
Wed 27 May – QLD Conservatorium Theatre 7.30pm
Thu 28 May – Macleay Island Community Hall 6.30pm
Sat 30 May – Ipswich Civic Centre 7.30pm
Sun 31 May – Toowoomba Empire Theatre 2pm
Thu 4 June – Hota Gold Coast 7.30pm
Fri 5 June – Maleny Community Centre 7.30pm
Sat 6 June – The J. Noosa 7.30pm

Thurs 11 June – Enmore Theatre, Sydney

All bookings www.spookymen.com

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Sydney Film Festival Program Explores The Intersection Of Fashion And Cinema

16/04/2026 Breaking News

Sydney Film Festival will present SARTORIAL: FASHION ON FILM, a program featuring new premieres alongside restored classics that explore the relationship between fashion and cinema, screening as part of the 73rd Sydney Film Festival from 3–14 June 2026. The program strand features seven films spanning decades of cinema, bringing together a striking body of work in which some of the world’s most distinctive filmmakers turn fashion into a lens on identity, culture and power. From the ateliers of Paris to the factory floors of China, these films trace how clothing reflects and shapes the societies that produce it, moving between documentary and fiction, and between candid portraits and global perspectives.

A centrepiece will be the Australian premiere of Marc by Sofia, Sofia Coppola’s first documentary, offering a personal picture of longtime friend, designer Marc Jacobs, and his creative world. Also featured is the world premiere of Australian film French Girls, directed by Hyun Lee, following a young woman drawn into Sydney’s modelling industry after being scouted, as she begins to navigate its shifting expectations and pressures.

Acclaimed filmmakers have long turned their attention to the fashion industry from multiple perspectives. From the recently deceased master, Frederick Wiseman’s Model offers a landmark depiction of a New York modelling agency, observing castings, shoots and the relentless demands of image-making, while Jia Zhangke’s Useless traces the human cost of industrial production across China’s garment industry, from factory floors to haute couture runways.

Chronicles of influential figures in fashion and culture also feature. Agnès Varda’s Jane B. par Agnès V. offers a playful and unconventional portrait of Jane Birkin, while Wim Wenders’ Notebook on Cities and Clothes follows designer Yohji Yamamoto, reflecting on creativity, authorship and the parallels between filmmaking and fashion.

Fictional takes on the fashion world bring satire and spectacle. Robert Altman’s Prêt-à-Porter, filmed during Paris Fashion Week, presents a sprawling ensemble comedy set amid the industry’s backstage dramas and personalities.

Sydney Film Festival Senior Programmer Jessica Moraza said, “The relationship between fashion and film extends far beyond the traditional fashion documentaries we know and love. In this special series, we wanted to highlight instances where some of cinema’s most distinctive directors have brought their singular perspective to the fashion world.”

The films in the strand include: French Girls (2026) Dir. Hyun Lee; Marc by Sofia (2025) Dir. Sofia Coppola; Useless (2007) Dir. Jia Zhangke; Prêt-à-Porter (1994) Dir. Robert Altman; Notebook on Cities and Clothes (1989) Dir. Wim Wenders; Jane B. par Agnès V. (1988) Dir. Agnès Varda; Model (1980) Dir. Frederick Wiseman.

Tickets to SARTORIAL: FASHION ON FILM, as well as Flexipasses and subscriptions to Sydney Film Festival 2026 are on sale now. Visit sff.org.au for more information. The full Sydney Film Festival program is announced on Wednesday 6 May 2026, when tickets to all films will be on sale.

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