Paul Kelly comes to Canberra with The A To Z Shows, performing 100 songs from his vast catalogue alphabetically over four consecutive nights.

The tickets will be sold either for individual nights, or as multi night bundles. The more nights you attend, the cheaper the per night ticket price becomes.

Paul Kelly is a born storyteller. For the past thirty years he has written songs inspired by everything from cricket to religion, from social issues to literature, and of course the land and the history of Australia. His songs have the power to connect people of all generations. Favourites such as Before Too Long, Dumb Things, From Little Things Big Things Grow, How To Make Gravy, Leaps and Bounds and To Her Door will all be included in these intimate concert performances.

Expect nothing short of a playful and honest, insightful and intimate performance from Paul Kelly at these shows.

John Waters returns in his critically acclaimed production Looking Through A Glass Onion - a homage to the music, mystery and memory of John Lennon. Wednesday 8th December 2010 marks the 30th anniversary since he was tragically gunned down outside his New York City apartment. John Lennon would have been 70 years of age in October 2010.

Glass Onion was created by Waters and D'Arrietta back in January 1992 with a five week run in a small cabaret room at the Tilbury Hotel in Sydney's Woolloomooloo as a two man show and was an instant success. Since then, Looking Through a Glass Onion features more musicians, has toured London's West End and a further two Sold Out Australian tours.

The show is not a cut-and-paste biography of Lennon or an emulation of the original recordings. On stage, with shadows from the lighting arrangement fluttering over his face as he explores the essence of the man through song and spoken word, Waters, becomes synonymous with Lennon. He shies away from imitating the artist, but so emotive is his performance, it lulls the audience into believing anything is possible.

It's part concert and part biography though it doesn't seek to tell the full story of Lennon's life. For the audience this is either an emotional trip down memory lane or a wonderful introduction to the life and times of one of the most fascinating icons of our time.

With 31 songs performed including, to name a few, A Day in The Life, Strawberry Fields Forever, Revolution, Lucy In the Sky with Diamonds, Working Class Hero, Imagine and more, this is a show for all ages. The music is delivered superbly by The Glass Onion Band that is lead by Stewart D'Arrietta.

"a remarkable celebration of a unique talent….Waters does it brilliantly." The Spectator, London.

"John Waters encapsulates the essence of Lennon." Capitol Radio, London.

"A stirring celebration of genius." Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney.

Lowdown wishes to advise that this show contains obscene language, strobe lighting effects and fog/haze effects.

1969. Vietnam. Bombs are dropping and the world is exploding in protest.

Back at the Tiki Club in St Kilda, four Koori sisters from country Victoria catch the eye of a big-city talent scout with their Supremes cover group.

For the McCrae girls, the realisation of a lifelong dream to perform overseas isn't quite what they had in mind. Instead of fame, fortune and glamorous international careers, these Koori divas find themselves performing for the troops on the front line.

The Sapphires tells the true story of The Sapphires as they shake it for the troops and push sibling love to its limits.

Wesley Enoch's remarkable production, described by The Australian as 'high energy, bedazzling entertainment', is a steamy and swinging medley of the highs and lows of family, love, war and the hottest soul music in the jungle of Vietnam!

Get ready for a night of hits that defined a generation - from Baby Love and Chain of Fools to Stop! In the Name of Love.

Lowdown wishes to advise that this show contains simulated smoking and mild strobe lighting effects.

An explosion of words, sound and energy, BLAST will be a night of big voices and big ideas. Think poetry is boring? BLAST will change this.

Set on the stage of The Playhouse, this all-ages gig is a mixture of hip-hop, acting, poetry and stand up comedy - slam and spoken word poetry has taken Australia and the world by storm. With a group comprising of internationally recognised slam poets, comedians, a DJ and a beatboxer, words will jump off the page and straight onto the stage in BLAST.

Stories both personal and political, funny and profound, will be told with gusto on a night of beats and flows.

The performance will be followed by a Q&A, where audience members can ask their favourite performers questions about the art form.

BLAST features:
Omar Musa - MC/Poet
Ben Pobjie - Comedian
Lesson MC - Rapper/Poet
Emily Zoey Baker - Poet
Mark Lloyd - Rapper/Poet
Kodak - Beatboxer
Indigo - Poet
Adam Hadley - Poet/Actor
DJ Rush - DJ

This show is suitable for everyone but parental guidance is recommended for children under 15. Please note this performance contains obscene language.

Shifting Sand is a new work conceived and composed by TaikOz member Graham Hilgendorf. Inspired by the beach and the ocean, Shifting Sand is a powerful evocation of the ocean's many faces.

From the delicate play of light on the surface of the sea to the raging fury of winter storms, TaikOz's ethereal bamboo flutes, thunderous taiko drumming and dynamic movement and dance seeks to capture the beauty, majesty and force of the ocean.

'Taiko' is the Japanese word for 'drum' and TaikOz is Australia's leading taiko drumming group. However, a TaikOz performance is more than just the beating of drums: it incorporates a complete world of drumming, song and dance that on the one hand harks back to ancient Buddhist and Shinto rituals and on the other, is a reflection of contemporary musical life, irrespective of nationality. While once a uniquely Japanese art form, its transformation into an international language is a recent phenomenon and one in which TaikOz is very much at the forefront.

TaikOz has established a unique performance aesthetic that is on the one hand boldly dynamic and stunningly dramatic, and the other, meditative, mesmerising, graceful and refined.

A TaikOz performance is not just for the ears and the eyes, but is felt throughout the entire body. It is a truly visceral experience.

TAIKO DRUMMING IS FOR EVERYBODY!

Learn how to play the awe-inspiring Japanese taiko by joining the members of TaikOz in a 2-hour workshop. Prior musical training is not a requirement - just bring your Mind, Body and Spirit!

During the workshop you will:

• Experience close-up the amazing sound and energy of the traditional Japanese drums - the taiko
• Learn about the music, the history and concepts behind the Art of Wadaiko (drumming)
• Enjoy making music with other people and receive a good physical workout at the same time

TaikOz is presenting a workshop at the Canberra Theatre at 6pm on 25 March 2011 prior to their Shifting Sand performance on 26 March 2011.

In 2011, Sydney Dance Company return to Canberra with a stunning double bill that once again merges Bonachela's choreographic talent with composer Ezio Bosso's raw and potent string-based scores.

The fantastic collaboration that delivered last year's we unfold returns.

In 6 Breaths, Ezio and Rafael focus on the act of breathing as the spirit of life.

"'The first breath is the life breath; the second is breathlessness - out of breath; the third, the crying breath or where breath is interrupted by emotion; the fourth is in the same breath; the fifth breath is a whisper - under one's breath - and the sixth is last breath." Rafeal Bonachela.

6 Breaths will be presented with a new work, LANDforms, where Bonachela and Bosso have drawn directly from their shared response to the drama and evolving forms of the land. They have created a work that promises to be their most moving collaboration to date.

This show is suitable for everyone. Please note this show contains fog/haze effects.
 

The tour entitled History This Is It, is an opportunity for Michael Jackson fans to celebrate the music, the magic and all the history!

This concert is the product of 25 years dedication from celebrated Las Vegas performer, Kenny Wizz, to championing MJ's genius.

This is the closest you will ever get to seeing the King of Pop in concert... Don't miss out!

Lowdown wishes to advise that this show contains strobe lighting effects and fog/haze effects.

A new theatrical event featuring Andrew Lloyd Webber's most timeless songs performed by the current stars of Australian musical theatre is coming to the Canberra Theatre Centre in June 2011 for 8 shows only.

He's been described as the master of musical theatre, the maestro of musicals, and a theatrical force to be reckoned with. His musicals have been seen by hundreds of millions around the world, translated into dozens of languages and won every major entertainment award.

Now - Australia will fall in love once more with The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber in a stunning new theatrical event that will tour Australia in 2011.

After more than 40 years, Andrew Lloyd Webber's music continues to have the extraordinary ability to touch an audience, lifting them to new heights of exhilaration and emotion after just a few bars of music.

Through state-of-the-art technology, audiences will be swept from the avenues of Broadway to the magnificence of Eva Peron's Argentina, to the speedways of Starlight Express, in a dazzling journey through the many settings of Andrew Lloyd Webber's greatest works. All the 'big' moments from Evita, The Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Jesus Christ Superstar, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Sunset Boulevard, Woman in White to the current Love Never Dies will be there.

Scotland the Brave is the international smash hit celebration of the best of Scottish music and dance which received standing ovations at its New York premiere at the Lincoln Centre in April 2009.

Featuring orchestra, choir, pipe band, highland dancers and soloists including popular tenor Greg Moore who features on the best-selling DVD.

Highlights include Skye Boat Song, Highland Cathedral, Ye Banks and Braes, The Gael, Auld Lang Syne, A Brigadoon Medley and more!