Hello, possums! Would you like to see one of Dame Edna Everage's costumes? How about those iconic gold hot pants that Kylie Minogue wore in ‘Spinning Around’? Perhaps the maracas that Peter Allen shook in his 1977 performance of ‘I Go To Rio’ or Midnight Oil drummer Rob Hirst’s beloved drum kit?
You’re in luck because 50 extraordinary pieces of Australian performing arts history are back in the spotlight at Encore! 50 Objects. 50 Years. One Collection. This exhibition at the Australian Museum of Performing Arts (AMPA) runs from September 16 to May 9, 2027.
Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Australian Performing Arts Collection, it showcases the people, performances and productions that have shaped Australia’s cultural history. It is the country’s largest specialist collection of its kind, preserving more than 850,000 objects spanning circus, dance, music, opera and theatre.
You’ll also find Helen Reddy’s Grammy Award for ‘I Am Woman’; a personal visual journal compiled by Nick Cave in 1987; the original neon-red L’Amour sign created by Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin for Opera Australia’s La Bohème; costumes worn by Olivia Newton-John and Hugh Jackman; signed pointe shoes worn by the first Indigenous person to join the Australian Ballet, Ella Havelka; Archie Roach’s custom-made performance vest; and Dame Nellie Melba’s jewel-encrusted silk cloak – and that's just to name a few.
From the tulle gown worn by legendary performer Dame Joan Sutherland to cheeky characters like the Ossie Ostrich puppet from television program Hey Hey It's Saturday, it’s a chance to see the objects that helped make Australian performing arts history – and, perhaps, conjure up a few memories of your own along the way.
'Encore! 50 Objects. 50 Years. One Collection.' runs at AMPA from September 16 to May 9, 2027. Find out more here.
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