Things to do in Melbourne this week

It's officially that time of year again when the Moonlight Cinema returns to Melbourne for the summer. There's just something special about snuggling into a bean bag and catching a film under the stars in the Royal Botanic Gardens – with an ice cream or a wine in hand, of course.  Australia's favourite outdoor cinema has dropped its summer screening schedule, with tons of  blockbusters, nostalgic favourites and comedies on the program. Catch Christmas highlights like Love Actually, Elf, Home Alone and The Holiday on the big screen from December 9-23, or enjoy a summer blockbuster like Wicked: For Good and special screenings of Eternity and Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere. Kids will love Zootopia 2, Moana 2 and How to Train Your Dragon. To celebrate turning 30, Moonlight Cinema wants you to vote now for your favourite classics like Shrek, Dirty Dancing, The Castle and Jurassic Park – the top picks will star in The People’s Program from January to March. Those looking to splurge can opt for Singapore Airlines' Gold Grass that comes with prime viewing, express entry and food and drinks delivered to your seat. Anothere cool option is the Connoisseur Lounge ticket that includes a bean bed plus a yum Connoisseur ice cream. And did you know the Moonlight Cinema is pooch friendly? For the first time ever you'll also be able to order a doggie bag meal from the food menu thanks to Lyka. Doggy date night, anyone? Screenings kick off at sundown, so bring your picnic rug, your...

Silly season is upon us – if you’re ready to pop the Champers, laugh ’til your belly hurts and revel in tricks you didn’t know were humanly possible, strap in for a glittering night at Blanc de Blanc Encore.  The cabaret spectacle lands at Melbourne’s brand-new Spiegel Haus in late October as the headline affair. The pop-up entertainment precinct has set up camp on the rooftop of the Golden Square Car Park on Lonsdale Street ready to dazzle Melburnians.  Blanc de Blanc Encore fuses a delectable mix of circus, cabaret, jazz and comedy (with a couple of bottles of bubbles for good measure) for an effervescent night out – leave the kids at home for this one. Blanc de Blanc Encore is the second instalment of, you guessed it, Blanc de Blanc, when it visited Melbourne in 2017. Don’t fret if you didn’t see the first one – you’ll enjoy the encore every bit as much as a standalone. It’s been a hit internationally, and arrives off the back of extended Brisbane and Sydney seasons. Watch Blanc de Blanc Encore at the Spiegel Haus Melbourne from October 31. Group and special events packages are available just in time for Chrissy party planning. Book your tickets here.

If you’re looking for a magical night out in the city, the neon-lit Maho Magic Bar is back after sold-out shows and rave reviews from their 2023 season in Chinatown, and this time it’s found a new home at Melbourne’s new entertainment hub, Spiegel Haus. Inspired by Japan’s rich history with magic, this immersive 60-minute experience comes from Broad Encounters (the team behind A Midnight Visit) and brings a line-up of magician superstars direct from Japan, performing a mix of brand-new tricks and audience favourites.  From November 25, step into the whimsical cocktail bar and be whisked away to Tokyo where expert magicians perform up-close magic alongside delicious cocktails. There's no stage for the performers here as the intimate show will take place right at your table, where you'll assist the magicians in their bamboozling sleight-of-hand magic. Japan’s best magicians will surprise and delight visitors, incorporating debonair storytelling, mind-blowing illusions and kawaii charm. While you enjoy the show, you can order from a menu of bespoke cocktails mixed by a Japanese master mixologist. Or if you're after a more traditional libation, try authentic Japanese sake, whisky, shochu and rare spirits like umeshu.  If you're prepared to be dazzled, this experience will surely do the trick. Maho Magic Bar is performing multiple shows a day between Tuesdays and Sundays with adult shows (recommended for ages 12+) in the evening and family-friendly matinees. Book a ticket, a...

Melbourne, start your engines. F1: The Exhibition has zoomed into town, marking its first-ever appearance in the Asia-Pacific region. After sell-out runs in Madrid, London and Amsterdam, the globally acclaimed show has made a pit stop at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, transforming it into an adrenaline-fuelled hub for motorsport fans. Part museum, part immersive experience, the exhibition will trace Formula 1’s past, present and future through six expansive galleries, with a seventh new section devoted to Australia’s own racing legends. Expect everything from championship-winning cars and rare memorabilia to video interviews and archive footage that captures the sport’s greatest rivalries and most spectacular victories. Visitors begin their journey in 'Once Upon a Time in Formula 1', charting seven-plus decades of drama before stepping inside 'Design Lab', a behind-the-scenes look at the factories of Red Bull, Mercedes and McLaren. 'Drivers and Duels' pays tribute to legends like Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton, while 'Revolution by Design' explores how engineering innovation and human daring have continually pushed the limits. The exhibition’s emotional heart, 'Survival', displays the remains of Romain Grosjean’s scorched Haas car from his 2020 Bahrain crash, a stark reminder of the sport's danger. Visitors then arrive at 'The Pit Wall', a cinematic wrap-up that relives Formula 1’s most unforgettable moments. Melbourne’s edition adds...

As Susan Sontag observed in On Photography, great images can act as memento mori, interrupting the flow of time by freezing moments that are otherwise fleeting. But the power to make – and be remembered for – such images has never been evenly distributed. For much of the twentieth century, women faced formidable barriers to working as photographers, their contributions often sidelined within the male-dominated field. Women Photographers 1900–1975: A Legacy of Light, a major new exhibition at the NGV, sets out to redress that imbalance – putting women back in the frame and revisiting the history of 20th-century photography. Running until May 3, 2026, the exhibit brings together more than 300 photographs, prints, photobooks and magazines by 80-plus artists, spanning portraiture, photojournalism, fashion, documentary and the avant-garde. From the suffrage movement through to the women’s liberation era, this period reveals how women used the camera to record, reflect on and challenge the world around them. Drawn entirely from the NGV Collection, the exhibition features more than 170 recently acquired works, with 130 on public view for the first time. Recognisable images sit alongside lesser-known ones, revealing the dense international networks that connected women photographers from Melbourne to Tokyo and Paris to Buenos Aires. Highlights include Dorothea Lange’s 'Migrant Mother' (1936), one of the defining images of the Great Depression; Lee Miller’s portrait of Man Ray in...

We're just as sad as you are that cherry blossom season is over, but the good news is that it heralds the start of the cherry-picking season. And if you can't get enough of those sweet and juicy red morsels, then make your way to CherryHill Orchards this summer to pick and eat as many cherries as your heart desires. This year's cherry-picking season will kick off on November 10 at CherryHill's 40-hectare orchard in Coldstream. On November 24, CherryHill's original orchard in Wandin East will follow suit and open its gates to eager pickers.  Sessions last for two hours, and cherries are charged per kilogram – trust us when we say these are some of the largest, sweetest cherries going around. But as you're picking, feel free to eat as many as you like! The fun doesn't stop at picking cherries; the orchard will host on-site food trucks and stalls hawking food and cherry-flavoured products. On top of the famed cherry ice cream, you can also shop pantry goods like cherry vinaigrette, cherry syrup, cherry barbecue sauce and cherry glaze. You can also bring your own picnic, or pre-order a box of goodies to enjoy on the orchard grounds. And if you visit on a weekend or public holiday, you'll be treated to the sweet sounds of live tunes performed by a rotating line-up of local musos. The cherry-picking festival will run until late December at the Coldstream orchard, and until early January at the Wandin East orchard. For more information and to book your spot head to the CherryHill...

Australia's biggest New Year's festival that combines music with camping and the arts is back again for a huge 10th birthday bonanza and we're beyond keen for a boogie.   We've been waiting impatiently for a line-up, and finally the Beyond the Valley team have delivered the goods. This year's program is jam-packed with international and local artists who'll soundtrack a NYE to remember and we've got all the juicy deets so you can stop daydreaming and start planning. Here's everything you need to know about the festival.   When is Beyond the Valley? Beyond the Valley (BTV) will take place once again at Barunah Plains in Hesse (a 30-minute drive from Geelong; 90 minutes from Melbourne) and will run from December 28 this year until January 1, 2026. We've got our fingers crossed for good weather. Who is on the line-up for Beyond the Valley? There are too many hot local and international artists to include them all here, but these are some of our faves: Dom Dolla, Addison Rae, Turnstile, Kid Cudi, Spacey Jane, I Hate Models, Kettama, Chris Stussy, Ben Böhmer and more. Jump on the BTV website to get a look at the full line-up. What can you expect at Beyond the Valley? In addition to the killer music line-up, BTV is turning it on for its 10th birthday bash with three main stages, a multi-format space presenting everything from live podcast recordings to magical cinema sessions, plus an all-new wellness area complete with saunas, cold plunges and massage therapists. Festival and...

From Marilyn Monroe’s fringed black dress in Some Like It Hot to Elton John’s Louis XIV–inspired birthday suit (complete with the powdered wig and train), the diva has always known how to turn getting dressed into an art form. Enter Diva, the debut exhibition at the Australian Museum of Performing Arts (AMPA). This is a glittering celebration of the artists who’ve shaped pop culture, music and fashion through imagination, talent – and, of course, by being a total diva. Charting the 19th-century opera goddesses and silent film stars to today’s global megastars, the exhibition will showcase the rise of the diva by going behind the sequins to reveal the cultural power and artistry of some of the world’s most captivating performers.  Presented by Arts Centre Melbourne and London’s Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), this Australian exclusive brings together more than 250 objects, including 60 spectacular costumes, jewellery, photography and handwritten lyrics spanning opera, pop, punk and Hollywood. Expect a red-carpet roll call of icons: Maria Callas, Grace Jones, Cher, Prince, Madonna, Elton John, Tina Turner, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Whitney Houston, Billie Eilish and more. Australia’s own legends get their time on the red carpet, too — from Dame Nellie Melba and Peter Allen to Kylie Minogue, Olivia Newton-John, Jessica Mauboy and Amy Taylor of Amyl and the Sniffers. Discover exquisite garments by Bob Mackie, Vivienne Westwood, Maison Margiela, Valentino and Christian Dior,...

Get ready, Melbourne – the dazzling Broadway musical Anastasia is making its long-awaited Australian debut at the Regent Theatre this December. Inspired by the beloved 1997 animated film and the enduring legend of Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanov, this lavish production brings to life a sweeping story of courage, love and self-discovery. From the twilight of Imperial Russia to the glamour of 1920s Paris, Anastasia will whisk audiences away on a breathtaking adventure. With opulent sets, stunning costumes and an unforgettable score by Tony Award-winning team Terrence McNally, Stephen Flaherty, Lynn Ahrens and Darko Tresnja, it promises to be a spectacular experience for the whole family. Leading the cast is Georgina Hopson as Anya, joined by Robert Tripolino as Dmitry, Joshua Robson as Gleb, Rodney Dobson as Vlad, Rhonda Burchmore as Countess Lily, and Australian theatre royalty Nancye Hayes AM as the Dowager Empress. Sharing the role of Little Anastasia are Melbourne’s own young stars Bibiana Brudan, Eleanor Flynn, Alyssa Fooks and Lillian Kinter – each just ten years young. Directed by Tony Award winner Darko Tresnjak and produced by John Frost for Crossroads Live and Opera Australia, Anastasia promises to be an enchanting evening.  Anastasia is running from December 20 to February 20, 2026. Find out more and book your tickets here. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Melbourne newsletter for the best of the city, straight to your inbox. Love theatre? Check...

Born just a year apart, Vivienne Westwood and Rei Kawakubo (the visionary behind Comme des Garçons and Dover Street Market) couldn’t have come from more different worlds – but both knew how to tear up the fashion rulebook. Their designs dismantled ideas of beauty, gender and taste, and now Melbourne gets a world-first chance to see their radical vision side by side. Open now at the NGV, Westwood | Kawakubo is a showcase of more than 140 boundary-breaking designs. Many are drawn from the NGV’s own holdings – an extraordinary cache of 300-plus Kawakubo pieces and more than 100 by Westwood – making this one of the most important showcases of their work anywhere in the world.  The exhibition is arranged thematically, moving from punk’s anarchic spirit in the 1970s to the avant-garde silhouettes of today. Expect explorations of their shared obsessions with historical dress, radical cutting techniques and subversions of gender norms, alongside rare runway footage, archival photography and film. There are plenty of highlights: punk ensembles once worn by the Sex Pistols and Siouxsie Sioux; the tartan Anglomania gown famously modelled by Kate Moss; Sarah Jessica Parker’s wedding dress from Sex and the City: The Movie; Rihanna’s sculptural ‘petal dress’ from the Met Gala; and key Comme des Garçons collections like Body Meets Dress – Dress Meets Body (SS97) and Uncertain Future (SS25). A centrepiece gallery pits Westwood’s sweeping 18th-century ballgowns against Kawakubo’s...