Arts editor HELEN MUSA rounds a week’s worth of arts and entertainment events and rolls them into her latest Artsweek column. 

Gold and Silver Logie winner, Lynne McGranger, joins Wayne Scott Kermond, Meredith O’Reilly and Andrew James in a cheeky new musical comedy, The Grandparents Club. Two performances at The B, Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre, September 6.

Canberra Art Fair 2025 is the brainchild of artist Margaret Hadfield. Concerned about gallery closures and the disappearance of exhibitions such as the Canberra Outdoor Art Show, she hopes to provide an outlet for local artists’ sales. Fitzroy Pavilion, Epic,  September 5-7.

Six of Australia’s premier academics debate the complex question of whether Australian history unites us in The Great Debate, while students also battle it out in the Seriously Social Great Student Debate. National Library of Australia, September 9.

Stage

• Timed for the 250th celebration of the birth of Jane Austen, Canberra Rep is staging Lizzy, Darcy and Jane, written by Joanna Norland, Rep Theatre, Acton, September 5-20.
• ACT-schooled comedian Kirsty Webeck is home with her show Everything I Need to Say About Sea Creatures, The Street Theatre, September 5.
• Melbourne comedian Noah Szto’s new musical comedy show, Med School follows him as he fumbles through his reluctant medical journey. The Street Theatre, September 6.
• Hidden Canberra is Shortis and Simpson’s love letter to the Canberra region as observed since they moved here in 1996. Smith’s Alternative, September 6.
• Sincere Apologies is a show written by Dan Koop, Jamie Lewis and David Williams from the theatre company Alternative Facts, their participatory performance is at Tuggeranong Arts Centre, September 6.

Galleries

• Villages, Meadows and Shores is an exhibition of oil paintings by artist David Kindon, at Yarralumla Gallery, Weston Park, until September 30.
• Paradox of Control, artist Maddie Hepner’s look at trichotillomania, digital fatigue, technology and health, is at Platform, 19 Furneaux Street, Manuka, September 5-21.
• ANCA Gallery’s exhibition PIN 10, a group exhibition of 200+ works of wearable art.
• Tina Arena will be in conversation with fashion photographer Georges Antoni as they discuss the newly commissioned portrait, Tina, on show at the National Portrait Gallery, September 6.
• Rusten House Art Centre, Queanbeyan, will welcome spring with Kahli McLeod’s Shared Spaces: The Wildlife Next Door, and Lost, jointly presented by Dennis Mortimer and Lia Kemmis. Until October 19.
• Canberra Art Gallery, Fyshwick, is presenting an exhibition, Wildflowers, by contemporary artist Rowdy Warren until September 12.

Concerts

• Now in its 30th year, the Australian Barbershop Harmony Festival will feature The Idea of North and First Take with performers from Perth to the Gold Coast and the hosts, Canberra Harmony Chorus and Canberra Chordsmen, Llewellyn Hall, September 3-8.
• CSO concertmaster Kirsten Williams and pianist Edward Neeman will perform Elgar’s Chanson de Matin and Chanson de Nuit, Debussy’s The Sunken Cathedral, Rachmaninov’s Études-Tableaux and Franck’s Violin Sonata in A Major. Tuggeranong Arts Centre, September 4.
• In Fire & Rain, Darren Coggan, takes audiences on a journey through the songbook of James Taylor, The Q, Queanbeyan, September 5.
• In Shimmying with the Schumanns, soprano Sarahlouise Owens and pianist Natalia Tkachenko throw light on the household of Robert and Clara Schumann through lieder and songs by the Schumanns and their mentor, Brahms. At Wesley Music Centre, September 6.
• Musica da Camera Canberra welcomes back John Ma to lead a journey through Europe with pieces by Boccherini, Dauvergne, Locatelli, Fischer and Campra. Holy Covenant Church Cook, September 6 and Gunning Shire Hall, September 7.
• Art Song Canberra presents Tea for Two, soprano Lorina Gore and tenor Andrew Goodwin, Wesley Music Centre, September 7.
• National Opera Chorus presents Best of All Possible Worlds, a concert celebrating stories and the power of the human voice through music inspired by great literary works. Wesley Uniting Church, Forrest, September 7.
• A performance of The Lark Ascending with soloist Georgina Chan and works by Bizet, Vaughan Williams and Dvořák, will mark 20 years of Maruki Community Orchestra. Albert Hall, September 7.
• The Austrian Harmonie Choir’s spring concert features singers Geoff Roberts and Evelyn Graham, and Linus Lee on piano. Harmonie German Club, September 7.