The best things to do in Melbourne this weekend

If there's one fantasy series to rule them all, it's hard to go past The Lord of the Rings. And now, Middle-earth is about to collide with our cultural capital, with the news that The Lord of the Rings – A Musical Tale, has landed in Melbourne. Based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s beloved epic trilogy, the stage production is showing at the Comedy Theatre until June 22. This musical invites audiences to join the Hobbits on a quest, bringing Middle-earth to life with a cast of multi-skilled actor-musicians in a theatrical event that celebrates community, courage and camaraderie – featuring an original folk-inspired score.  *** Time Out Sydney reviewed The Lord of the Rings - A Musical Tale when it played at the State Theatre in January. Read on for that three-star review:   For elder Millennials like me, The Lord of the Rings franchise conjures memories of a simpler time: a time when movies were treated more like a coveted form of storytelling rather than just another option in an endless barrage of ‘content’ to ‘stream’. A time when I would go to the local cinema to watch each new instalment in the adventures of my favourite beardy boys club with my dad, who even loaded my sister and I into the car for a day trip to Sydney to check out an epic exhibition about how those epic movies were made across the ditch in New Zealand. (So many used prosthetics! So cool!) I believe that there’s elements of LOTR lore that are so inescapable that you need not have watched the movies or read the...

Snakes have curled their way around mythology for millennia. Present in countless creation stories from Egyptian, Greek and Indian to Norse and First Nations cultures (including the Rainbow Serpent), the loaded symbolism of this coiled creature clasping its tail between its fangs – the ouroboros – evokes eternity.  Sometimes the serpent holds the world together. Other times, it’s a constricting chaos agent. Either way, the fireside nature of myths, oft-shared in storytelling sessions spun under the stars, is inherently unending, melding anew with each retelling. Tackled by everyone from Roman poets Virgil and Ovid to Canadian indie rockers Arcade Fire and Katee Robert’s queered novel, Midnight Ruin, the myth of Eurydice and her Orpheus finds new life in the hands of folk singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell. Her eight Tony Award-winning smash-hit musical Hadestown began life as a sung-through community project before she turned it into a concept album, and then a Broadway smash with help from director Rachel Chavkin. In most Greek tales, Eurydice and her Orpheus are happily married, torn apart by a cruel twist of fate: a viper’s bite (sometimes while pursued by toxic dudebro Aristaeus), not even a malicious god in disguise. As she fades into the Underworld, ruled over by Hades and his niece/abducted wife Persephone (!!!), a desolate Orpheus, son of a musical muse, plays his lyre like her life depends on it. Descending into the abyss and crossing the River Styx, he makes a...

Forget about needing to fly thousands of kilometres to the other side of the world to see Les Miserablés – an epic production of the iconic musical has landed right here in our city, providing the chance to experience the magic of a performance from the crème de la crème of London’s famed West End. Les Miserablés is celebrating its 40th anniversary with a mega arena-sized version of the beloved show, filling Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena with soaring songs for a limited time.  For the uninitiated, Les Miserablés is a musical adaptation of an 1800s novel by Victor Hugo, which was picked up by prolific West End producer Sir Cameron Mackintosh in the 1980s to become the production audiences know and love today. Set in 19th century France, it follows the life of Jean Valjean (played by Alfie Boe and alternate Killian Donnelly), a man striving to build a new life after he’s freed from imprisonment, but who breaks his parole to escape the trappings of a cruel justice system.  An act of pure kindness from a caring bishop (Earl Carpenter) spurs Valjean to transform his life and become a reputable figure, striving to give back to those in need. But the shadow of his past follows him, and he’s constantly evading the pursuit of tyrannous inspector Javert (Michael Ball). Set against the backdrop of the French Revolution, the story dips into the lives of a series of characters he encounters, each facing the trials of love and survival. While this summary sounds serious, the story is sung...

Get your wands at the ready, because Melbourne is set to play host to the Australian premiere of Harry Potter: The Exhibition. This behind-the-scenes extravaganza will leave Potterheads spellbound, and features interactive recreations of famous film scenes, props and costumes from the Broadway production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, a multimedia experience featuring the Whomping Willow, dementors, the Marauder's Map and the chance to conjure a Patronus charm. Budding witches and wizards will be sorted into Hogwarts houses and earn points as they explore the exhibition – it could be through a potions class, predicting the future à la Professor Trelawney in Divination or defeating a boggart in Defence Against the Dark Arts. There will also be opportunities to practice spell casting and Quidditch skills, plus win golden snitch medallions to become a model student. Each experience comes with plenty of photo ops and, of course, magical interactive moments. There's even a recreation of the Great Hall for visitors to enjoy in all its splendour, complete with floating candles.  This official Harry Potter exhibition is part of a global tour, previously selling out in cities like Boston and Madrid. It will be apparating into Melbourne on April 4, with tickets on sale now. You can find out more about this enchanting experience via the website.  Looking for more family-friendly things to do? Here's our guide to the best activities for kids in Melbourne. 

Attention, sweet tooths: the Yarra Valley Chocolaterie, Great Ocean Road Chocolaterie and Mornington Peninsula Chocolaterie are bringing back the annual Rocky Road Festival this May. It’s predicted that more than a whopping 100,000 handmade blocks will be churned out across the 31 days, using a base recipe that’s every rocky road lover’s match made in heaven: fluffy housemade marshmallow and smoother-than-satin couverture chocolate. You'll be able to sample something new, get your hands on a made-to-order one-kilogram block or try a kooky creation at one of the interactive tasting sessions.  How does a rocky road hot chocolate or ice cream sundae sound? There will also be a special limited-edition dessert menu inspired by the classic Aussie treat. The European chocolatiers plan to rock your palate with 31 distinct festival flavours, including Dubai chocolate, Biscoff honeycomb, caramel Toblerone, mango chipotle, peanut butter pretzel and many more. Those with the unfortunate dual diagnosis of an intolerance and a sweet tooth are in luck. Vegan and gluten-free creations will be available for tasting across the three chocolateries so nobody needs to miss out. Could it get any sweeter?  Click through to the website here for more information. Those who can’t venture out to the Yarra Valley, Surf Coast and Mornington Peninsula can get their fill of the festival’s chocolates straight to their door thanks to a delivery service.   Looking for more things to do? Check out our...

Way back when Tim Burton was a much weirder filmmaker, my wee brother and I were unreasonably thrilled by the chaos engine of awfully bad behaviour that was Michael Keaton’s unhinged and unwashed demon, Betelgeuse.  The grotty pinstripe-suited monster ate up the 1988 film of not quite the same name – the studio figured folks would stay away unless the title was simplified to Beetlejuice. Named after the red supergiant star blazing ferociously in the constellation of Orion, some 600 light years from our solar system, Betelgeuse is an outcast from the hilariously bureaucratic afterlife, aka the Netherworld. Which leaves him preying on the naïve recently deceased, like sweet young couple Adam and Barbara Maitland (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis), in an attempt to crowbar open the sort of ridiculous loophole the Greek gods are fond of. Say his – apparently too complex – name three times and he’ll be unleashed on the mortal coil once more.  But Betelgeuse’s sleazy attentions are soon distracted by Winona Ryder’s goth child Lydia, when she reluctantly moves into Adam and Barbara’s now-empty house with her dad, Charles (disgraced actor Jeffrey Jones), and his new squeeze, OTT sculptor Delia (fabulously demented goddess Catherine O’Hara). A smash hit, Beetlejuice is a wild and unruly thing writhing with unhinged ideas, from its stop-animated black and white sand worms to characters shrunk into a model of sleepy town Winter River, and on to the hilariously-depicted dead of the...

May the 4th is a special date for any Star Wars fan, but this year it'll be one to remember. A brand-new Lego Star Wars exhibition is making its world premiere, and it won't be in a galaxy far, far away but right here in Melbourne.  Lego Star Wars: the Exhibition at Melbourne Museum comes from revered Lego genius Ryan 'Brickman' McNaught, who's back with his latest mind-boggling project of massive Star Wars brick creations – some standing at a whopping four metres tall.  There'll be Lego replicas of many of the iconic characters, fan favourite scenes, spacecraft and more, from both the classic films and newer releases. Plus, the exhibition will include interactive brick-based activities inclusive of all ages.  While there's still some time to wait for the exhibition opening, building has already begun, and it's expected it'll take more than 25,000 hours to finish and use a wild 8 million Lego bricks. One of the most monumental creations is a three-metre-tall red X-wing spacecraft, made of an astonishing 64,759 bricks, taking 382 hours to build.  "Fans will be blown away by the scale of the experience," Brickman says. "Building these iconic scenes and characters in Lego Star Wars form is an extremely complex task – taking the humble Lego brick and using it by the millions to translate into Star Wars builds and models at an epic scale the world has never seen before.  "My team and I are super excited to launch this mind-blowing experience right here in Melbourne. My inner...

The ninth edition of Melbourne Design Week will bring 11 days of exhibitions, talks and workshops to the city in late autumn. More than 350 inventive events will be presented during the festival, cementing its status as Australia’s largest annual design event. Each year brings a new theme for Melbourne Design Week and this year’s is ‘Design The World You Want’. The theme is designed to encourage people to express, question, propose and test ideas about the world around us. Projects involved might offer solutions that heal, replenish and enable life, revealing design as an act of repair and transformation. Highlights include A New Normal, an exhibition featuring a collection of designs to make Melbourne a self-sufficient city by 2030; a retrospective of lighting designer Volker Haug; a spectacular showcase of 100 dazzling and avant-garde contemporary lights at North Melbourne's Meat Market Stables; and presentations by leading showrooms, studios and makers like Trent Jansen, Jessie French, Fiona Lynch, Cult and more. The Melbourne Art Book Fair will also be celebrating its 11th year, and will run its popular stallholder fair in the NGV’s Great Hall from May 15-17.  Melbourne Design Week is presented by Creative Victoria and delivered by the NGV. You can view the full festival program and book tickets here. Inspired by the book fair? Check out the best independent bookstores in Melbourne.

If you love playing dress-up and have wondered what life was like back in the golden era of the Victorian Goldfields region, then dust off your tweed jacket and drive up for the Ballarat Heritage Festival. The nine-day festival takes place from May 16 to 25 and features a program jam-packed with historic experiences, with a thrilling addition of aviation joy rides this year, as well as the classic steam train shuttles, delicious food and drink experiences plus much more.  We hope you've been oiling your facial hair because the annual beard and moustache competition is one of the festival's major events. Got a perfectly styled moustache, or a luscious beard? Head to Hop Temple on May 24 for your chance at the hairy crown, and for craft beer and delicious food as you await the results. Over both weekends of the festival, a selection of some of the region's finest makers will gather for the Craft Lab to share their heritage trades, traditional practices, lost skills and cultural rituals. You'll get an opportunity to try first-hand the practices of crafts like weaving, knife making, silverwork and more, and you can listen in on talk and panel discussions with passionate makers. New to the festival this year is the exciting addition of Entertainment of the Air, a celebration of air travel, with special events and performances at the local airport and aviation museum. Plus, airplane enthusiasts have the chance to go on joyride flights on vintage airliners. And it wouldn't be a...

In 1984, director Trevor Nunn was doing press for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Starlight Express when he offered the perfect maxim for a Webber fan: “Here is my money. Hit me with the experience.” Arguably none of Webber’s shows have hit harder than his 1971 rock-opera, Jesus Christ Superstar, which arrives at Melbourne’s Princess Theatre after a much-lauded run in Sydney. First revived at London’s Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre in 2016 for the show’s fiftieth anniversary, it’s been restaged in Australia by director Timothy Sheader. Sheader favours a ‘more is more’ approach, leaning into every ‘Webber-ism’ that made the show a success in the first place: rock'n'roll maximalism, near-inhuman vocal lines, emotional spectacle. No crucifix is too glittery or top note too loud. Megawatt vocals and an electric ensemble cast make it a cut above the other Webber revivals we’ve seen in the last couple years. Yet its heavy-handed approach also exposes the limits of spectacle for spectacle’s sake, even when it comes to Webber. It’s a dazzling experience, but ultimately soulless.  The curtain rises on a disassembled rock concert: amps, concert speaker boxes and microphone stands peppered around a set of towering balustrades, exposed steel beams and grating that hide the band. Set and costume Designer Tom Scutt puts us somewhere between Rent’s gritty urbanism and the steampunk simplicity of Hadestown. Meanwhile, lighting designer Lee Curran adds a splash of Mad Max to things by throwing dirty...