<\/strong>Recovering perfectionist Scout Boxall takes you on a tour of everything they\u2019ve ever quit, reminding us along the way why this outstanding comedian has become such an industry icon in just five or so years.
$21.50, Trades Hall<\/em><\/p>\n
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Scout Boxall was nominated for best newcomer at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival last year for their debut solo work Good Egg.<\/span><\/p>\n Melbourne Symphony Orchestra A wall of dioramas presents loungerooms of the past inside ACMI.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Adam Gibson<\/cite><\/p>\n ACMI<\/strong> Dark Matters<\/strong> Tix at 12<\/strong> So\u2026<\/strong> Big Games Night Out offers an immersive night in Fed Square.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Ian Laidlaw<\/cite><\/p>\n Big Games Night Out<\/strong> Puzzle<\/strong> Wurrdha Marra<\/strong> Stud<\/strong> Con vs Con vs Con<\/strong> Joyride<\/strong> Spring Fling<\/strong> Flake<\/strong> Enemies of Grooviness Eat Sh!t<\/strong> Maya King in Nevenka, Goldah Tekewia in Bianca Spender, Ambassador Ayesha Madon in BEC + BRIDGE, James Keyte in Dom Bagnato and Belle Leslie in Aje at the Melbourne Fashion Week launch.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Simon Schluter<\/cite><\/p>\n Melbourne Fashion Week<\/strong> Dancehouse <\/strong> Comedy at the Coopers Inn<\/strong> Granny Bingo’s Thomas Jaspers, Scott Brennan and Kyle Minall.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Simon Schluter<\/cite><\/p>\n Granny Bingo<\/strong> Berna Reale\u2019s work\u00a0Palomo,\u00a02012 <\/span><\/p>\n Beneath the Surface, Behind the Scenes<\/strong> Meditative Sound Bath<\/strong> Cinema Nova<\/strong>
<\/strong>You could cough up more than a hundred bucks to catch acclaimed French conductor Chlo\u00e9 van Soeterst\u00e8de\u2019s shows with the MSO \u2026 or pay a fraction of that to watch the rehearsal.
$15, Hamer Hall<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
You know it for large-scale exhibitions such as Goddess<\/em>, but don\u2019t forget that ACMI is also a functioning cinema. Pay $9 to see a new release like Asteroid City<\/em>? On a weekend? Positively absurd. Plus permanent show The Story of the Moving Image<\/em> is free year-round.
Various prices, ACMI<\/p>\n
Science Gallery Melbourne\u2019s latest exhibition explores the dark matter that\u2019s everywhere but has baffled scientists for generations. It\u2019s both a rich sensory experience and a deep intellectual encounter that may shake up your understanding of the universe.
Free, Science Gallery Melbourne<\/em><\/p>\n
Our $25 price cap means you\u2019re barred entry to any of the theatres within Arts Centre Melbourne. Unless you score one of the discounted tickets offered online from midday to midnight each Tuesday.
Various prices, artscentremelbourne.com.au<\/em><\/p>\n
Ridiculusmus are a cult double act whose idiosyncratic style of dark, intelligent comedy has won admirers across the globe. Here they play long-lost brothers attempting to reunite in the wake of their mother\u2019s death.
$20, Trades Hall<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Melbourne International Games Week is this year taking over Fed Square with a large-scale event featuring fashion designers, DJs, performers and cosplay. Showcasing local hits including Cult of the Lamb and Stray Gods, it\u2019s a chance to size up Melbourne\u2019s growing indie game culture.
Free, Fed Square<\/p>\n
Taiwanese circus outfit FOCA are in Melbourne for this year\u2019s Fringe, and a series of pop-up street events will give you a taste of in a free outdoor setting.
Free, Melbourne Museum Forecourt and Queen Victoria Market<\/em><\/p>\n
With a name meaning \u201cmany mobs\u201d, this exhibition illustrates the diversity of art being created by First Nations artists in Australia today, ranging from emerging artists to senior figures in the cultural landscape.
Free, NGV Australia<\/em><\/p>\n
Aiden Willcox is one of the rising stars of Australian comedy, winning best newcomer at this year\u2019s MICF, best comedy at last year\u2019s Fringe, and scoring a Golden Gibbo nomination at the comedy festival last year. Expect his latest Fringe show to only increase that reputation.
$25, Trades Hall<\/em><\/p>\n
Con Coutis is another Golden Gibbo nominee, and there are few awards that announce someone as doing something truly unique with the comedy form. His new show looks like comic mayhem.
$25, The Motley Bauhaus<\/em><\/p>\n
The front seat of a beat-up Beamer acts as the playing space for this dark tribute to the road movie genre created by renowned variety artist Anna Lumb and drag icon Dandrogyny. Seatbelts optional.
$25, Trades Hall<\/em><\/p>\n
This mini-festival of words and ideas run by the Wheeler Centre includes two dozen events featuring local and international writers. Most blow out our budget, but dig around and you\u2019ll find a few offering $15 full price tickets or \u201cpay what you wish\u201d pricing.
Varying $$$, The Wheeler Centre<\/em><\/p>\n
Tickets to shows at Red Stitch are well outside our budget, but if you can dig around the back of the couch you might be able to afford a discounted ticket to a preview. Up next is a three-hander set in the whirlwind bustle of Hanoi.
$28, Red Stitch<\/em><\/p>\n
For a while now Arts House in North Melbourne has provided a reduced rate for every show so that money isn\u2019t a barrier to art. Why not check out the latest in-your-face offering from Emma Maye Gibson, aka the surreal sex clown Betty Grumble.
$20, Arts House<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
A ticket to one of the main runway shows at MFW will regularly set you back 10 times the amount we\u2019ve budgeted for here, but there are cartloads of free pop-up runways and conversation events showcasing emerging designers and trends.
Free, various locations<\/em><\/p>\n
Melbourne\u2019s dance scene is in the midst of a particularly healthy streak, and you can dive right in at Dancehouse with a suite of offerings that won\u2019t cost more than $25. There are nine shows playing as part of Melbourne Fringe, and they\u2019re even scheduled so you can catch them all in just a few days.
$25, Dancehouse<\/em><\/p>\n
Our comedy and fringe festivals offer serious serves to local laugh-hounds, but there are rooms that provide the same fare year-round. Try the weekly nights at the Coopers Inn, where you might catch the likes of Tom Gleeson or Celia Pacquola in the line-up.|
$20, The Coopers Inn<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
A drag bingo night hosted by three garish seniors might sound a little niche, but this regular outing is seriously funny stuff. Edith, Maureen and Caroline didn\u2019t win a major Melbourne International Comedy Fest award for phoning it in.
$25, Comedy Republic<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Art is a language, and this exhibition brings together a wide range of contemporary Latin American artists and puts them in conversation with our local talent.
$22, Heide Museum of Modern Art<\/em><\/p>\n
Melbourne\u2019s Immigration Museum is always a contemplative space, but if you need a break from imbibing all of this culture, sign up for an aural journey with its roots in yoga practice. Part meditation, part mind massage, you\u2019ll be all ears.
$25, Immigration Museum<\/em><\/p>\n
You can hardly find a decent coffee for $7 these days, but for the same price you can score a ticket to films at Carlton\u2019s finest movie house. The catch? The price only applies during the day on Mondays, and goes up to $10 on Monday evenings. Still a bargain, obvs.
$7-10, Cinema Nova<\/em><\/p>\n