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Adelaide’s True Crime Tour

31/08/202631/08/2026 Rob McKinnon🌟🎭

Adelaide’s True Crime Tour Rating

★★★★★

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Meeting outside the Adelaide Railway Station, our very engaging and knowledgeable tour guide, Sarah, led us on a 90-minute tour around the CBD walking to the actual scenes of nine notorious local crimes.

The tour begins at the Railway Station with a fascinating crime dating back to the building’s construction in the 1920s, before moving along North Terrace to Government House for one of the oldest stories featured on the tour.

From there, we made our way through familiar Adelaide landmarks including Rundle Mall, Hindmarsh Square and Grenfell Street. It is fascinating to discover the darker history hidden behind places that thousands of people pass every day, often without any idea of the dramatic events that once occurred there.

At the Mall’s Balls, officially called The Spheres as Sarah pointed out, we heard the tragic story of a crime that occurred in the area in the early twentieth century, including an eerie detail about the victim that is best left for Sarah to reveal.

The tour also moves into more recent history, including a shocking murder connected with Hindmarsh Square, before continuing through the city for several other stories involving Adelaide characters and crimes from different periods.

One of the strengths of the tour is the variety of cases covered. Some are relatively well known, while others reveal extraordinary episodes from Adelaide’s past that many locals may never have encountered.

The tour culminates around Gouger Street with the engrossing story of John Balaban, one of Adelaide’s most notorious murderers, and the dramatic circumstances surrounding his eventual arrest.

The tour is a gentle walk suitable for most fitness levels, with plenty of opportunities for resting on public seats if needed. It takes place mostly over flat ground that is readily traversable by wheelchairs. As the tour operates through public areas of the CBD, there is naturally also some variability in public interaction along the way.

Adelaide’s True Crime Tour provides a very interesting insight into the notorious historic happenings hidden behind what are often considered the quiet streets of Adelaide. Sarah was an engaging and knowledgeable guide, and the tour is highly recommended for visitors to Adelaide and locals alike.

Venue: Starts at the Adelaide Railway Station

To book tickets to Adelaide’s True Crime Tour, please visit https://darkstories.com.au/adelaide-true-crime-tour/.

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Iota Joins Cast Of Leonard Cohen Anniversary Spectacular

28/08/2026 Breaking News

Feature-Cohen Noir: The Beauty, Mystery and Romance of Leonard Cohen

It’s 10 years since the iconic poet-composer-musician Leonard Cohen left this world, but his work looms as large as ever! And – marking the anniversary – Australia’s triple ARIA Award-winning Monsieur Camembert brings their spectacular and acclaimed production COHEN NOIR to Melbourne and Perth, honouring one of the world’s greatest songwriters through a richly textured evening of music, poetry and storytelling.

Joining an all-star cast of singers and musicians for both performances is multi award winning performer, IOTA. He is flanked by Diana Rouvas, Lyn Bowtell, Susie Bishop, Timothy James Bowen (Melbourne), Berlin-based Australian violin virtuoso Daniel Weltlinger and the remarkable Bukhu, whose haunting Mongolian throat singing and horse-hair fiddle add another unforgettable voice to this rich musical landscape.
Plus the formidable choral backing of a superb community choir in each city: Glee West in Melbourne and Swan Harmony Singers in Perth!

Some songs become part of who we are. They accompany us through life’s different seasons, revealing new meanings as we change. Leonard Cohen’s songs are among those rare companions, filled with beauty, longing, tenderness and extraordinary insight into what it means to be human. Created and performed by Australia’s triple ARIA Award-winning Monsieur Camembert, COHEN NOIR is a rare invitation into that remarkable world.

Over the past 20 years, COHEN NOIR has evolved into one of Australia’s most acclaimed live music experiences, earning standing ovations and sold-out performances at the Sydney Opera House, State Theatre, City Recital Hall and the Adelaide Cabaret Festival. Audiences return not simply to hear these timeless songs again, but to discover something new within them.

“Cohen Noir is brilliant… a confronting, mortifying, exultant celebration of the business of being human.” – John Shand, Sydney Morning Herald

An exceptional ensemble of musicians and guest artists explores Cohen’s songs, poetry and prose with imagination, sensitivity and masterful musicianship. Drawing on jazz, tango, Latin, folk, klezmer and cinematic orchestration, the music reveals new colours and perspectives while remaining faithful to the emotional heart of the songs.

Cohen’s own recorded voice, poetry and humour weave gently through the performance, drawing audiences into the world behind the songs and revealing the wisdom, humanity and quiet grace that resonate so deeply.

“Spirited, musically assured, eclectic and downright fun.” – Doug Spencer, ABC Radio National

More than a tribute concert, COHEN NOIR invites audiences to encounter Leonard Cohen’s work anew, discovering fresh colours, deeper meanings and the timeless humanity that continues to resonate a decade after his passing.

“Monsieur Camembert does justice to the emotional, lyrical and melodic intent of the songs while adding a new dimension.” – Tony Hillier, The Weekend Australian
Tickets and information: www.cohen-noir.com

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Breaking The Code

10/08/2026 Nicole V🥈🎭

Breaking The Code Rating

★★★★★

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“Rules are only important in cricket, and the scholarly editing of ancient texts.”

St. Jude’s players present “Breaking the Code”, a performance with excitable monologues, an engaging Alan Turing, and mathematical equations and theories. Add in a sprinkling of the still unanswered question of the use of artificial intelligence having human emotions, and you have a performance that spans decades. The focus of the story is not on solving the enigma for the World War II effort, but on Turing’s life before and after, offering glimpses of his home life, his love interests, and his struggles.

Brant Eustice shines as Alan Turing, with an expressive face, presence and passion on stage that brought Turing to life in the most positive, and almost reverent way. Jamie Black and Peter Davies are imposing in their roles of law enforcement, driven by the law and encouraging Turing to do what is right by it. David Lockwood is amusing and engaging as Dillwyn Knox – his humour and delivery both well-timed and enjoyable. Rhonda Grill and Tianna Cooper are both elegant and loving as Mrs Turing and Pat Green, respectively, bringing the women in Turing’s inner circle to life in a considered and respectful manner. Sebastian Hollingsworth and Nicholas Koulioubus bring their own variations of explosive passion to both the stage and Turing’s life – along with fun, impeccable wardrobes. Together, this cast is a perfectly balanced equation.

The stage is simple, but every inch has been meticulously set up, blocked out, and lit up in the most flattering and effective way to tell each chapter of the story … because each scene in “Breaking the Code” is a change of year and location, playing out like chapters. If you are not intimately familiar with the story of Alan Turing, I highly recommend picking up a program so you can follow along with the time jumps with more ease. You will have no problems knowing which location the scene is set at, with the visual aids on the back wall paired with the well-thought-out set layouts. Together with the simple lighting and minimalistic music which work seamlessly to set the tone, St. Jude’s players present a vibrant retelling of Alan Turing’s story.

For anyone worried they wouldn’t be able to follow along with the mathematics, there is nothing to worry about, because Turing does all the equations, and explains anything that is story-related on stage.

“Breaking the Code” is interesting, funny, and thought-provoking, even if you have already found yourself questioning artificial intelligence and human relations. You may even find yourself asking the same question as Turing did: Was God a mathematician?

To book tickets to Breaking The Code, please visit https://stjudesplayers.asn.au/.

Photographer: Tim Stoeckel

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Pomona

10/08/2026 Nicole V🥈🎭

Pomona Rating

★★★★★

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Content Warnings: Coarse language, adult themes, references to sexual assault, and suicide.

Science fiction, Dungeons and Dragons, and a missing sister. Pomona has it all.

With a well-oiled cast who together bring the desolate Blade Runner-esque world to life, the audience is sucked into the mystery of the missing sister.

“Ollie? Like, Oliver? Like, a boy’s name?”

We follow the stories of multiple characters in Manchester; as they manoeuvre through the story the characters watch one another’s performances from the stairs and behind the audience in the cloisters. Are they judging each other? Observing from afar? Making a point of the interconnections between the characters? You decide.

The jagged, raw emotions from each character as they navigate their lives, their connections, and their mistakes is palpable, and flows naturally from the performers. The stress, fear, and love emanate from the stage – no performer holds back, fully immersing themselves and their audience in their character’s storyline.

The costumes bring a balanced mix of dreary and science fiction, looking natural on the performers while adding to the worldbuilding of this alternate Manchester. Each costume appeared carefully considered and tailored for the character, while managing to encapsulate the atmosphere of the alternate Manchester and the performance. There are few costume changes, and each of them were smooth, blending into the story seamlessly.

The same can be said for the set design and the set changes – well-chosen pieces that showcase the ambience of Manchester, and seamless changes undertaken by the performers. The set changes were efficient, and elegantly doubled as an opportunity for the performers to drape themselves in their next observation location for the scene. The pieces doubled as a backdrop for the city, never straying far from the stage, and some contained multiple uses, changing from a bed to a desk and back again – a very tasteful use of the pieces at hand without overwhelming the performers or audience.

The audience was enraptured from the first lowering of the lights – LED strip lighting lined the stage and emitted a soft glow of anticipation. With torches being used by the performers as well as the lighting team, there was no shortage of creative use. This extends to the use of sound, as they work hand-in-hand with the lighting team to not only set the scene, but fully immerse the audience.

Pomona jumps forward and back in time to tell the story, with the mystery of the missing sister unfolding as the characters’ connections and personal gripes unfold. Be prepared to walk away with questions, and maybe even a desire to play Dungeons and Dragons.

To book tickets to Pomona, please visit https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1476481.

Photographer: Sophie Livingston-Pearce & Alice Smith

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