Joy (Reviewed)
Joy brings the Immigration Museum to life with an emotive adventure where creativity, colour and storytelling join forces to take you on a transformative journey. Read our review here.
Welcome to our popular What’s On Melbourne page! Browse events by Category, Month, or use the Search box. Events are listed by start date. For a better desktop view - head here.
Please check event details via the “More Information” link as dates/times may change. Some posts may contain affiliate links – booking through them supports our site at no extra cost to you.
Joy brings the Immigration Museum to life with an emotive adventure where creativity, colour and storytelling join forces to take you on a transformative journey. Read our review here.
Discover the magic behind Adam Elliot's remarkable Claymation style with a display of handmade sets, props and characters from Memoir of a Snail.
Enter the world of Saboteurs in Melbourne, a live AmongUs-style game where Crew members complete tasks while Impostors secretly eliminate them.
Ballet of Lights: Sleeping Beauty has arrived in Melbourne! This beloved tale is brought to life through classical dance, stunning choreography, and beautiful glow-in-the-dark costumes. Get your tickets for Ballet of Lights: Sleeping Beauty in a Sparkling Show in Melbourne!
This major exhibition staged at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia surveys the work of Australian-born Paris-based fashion designer Martin Grant.
Scienceworks is set to inspire the next generation of engineers, designers and creators with the launch of its newest hands-on exhibition, Tinkertown, opening 5 April 2025. This vibrant, interactive village is designed to ignite creativity and innovation, turning the world of engineering and design upside down with fun and playful experiences.
Get ready to be transported back to 1912 as visitors strap on VR goggles to roam freely, interact with passengers and explore the legendary ship like never before. Read our review here.
Experience a world of contraband and corruption at Alcotraz, the world's first immersive, prison-themed cocktail bar.
Now in its 20th year, Australia’s longest running and most popular book exhibition features more than 300 rare, remarkable and historically significant items from the State Collection. But most of all, it’s a celebration of the unique place books have in our hearts and minds.
Discover Prison Island in Melbourne, where life behind bars is anything but boring. Team up and take on a series of high-stakes challenges across 34 prison cells in this action-packed adventure. Reviewed!
ArtVo is an immersive art or ‘trick art’ gallery, the first of its kind in Australia, where you are encouraged to touch the art and become part of the art by taking photographs from designated points on the floors of the gallery.
Dive into the Malibu Barbie Cafe at Chadstone Shopping Centre these July school holidays, where retro glam meets delicious dining in a playful, immersive experience. With vibrant decor, Barbie-inspired bites, and unforgettable photo ops, it’s fun for all ages!
Monopoly Dreams Melbourne is a fully immersive and interactive Monopoly experience, featuring games, challenges and more.
IMAGINATOR is a pioneering immersive experience where imagination and technology collide to create a stunning audio-visual journey from the future. Whether you choose to embark on a playful adventure with the family or take a moment for yourself to unwind, IMAGINATOR has both adults and children in mind.
The Stronger Families, Stronger Communities exhibition elevates the voices of nine First Nations men who have taken part in Dardi Munwurro’s healing and leadership programs.
Experience Peter Pan reimagined with Ballet of Lights! Six performers in illuminated costumes bring this classic story to life through dance, light, and color. Get your tickets now for Ballet of Lights: Peter Pan in a Sparkling Show in Melbourne!
Candlelight concerts bring the magic of a live, multi-sensory musical experience to awe-inspiring locations never before used for this purpose in Melbourne. Buy your tickets now to discover the music of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake and more featuring ballet at Collingwood Town Hall under the gentle glow of candlelight.
Step into the heart of a high-stakes trial with The Jury Experience in Melbourne.
Come on down to We call it Jazz in Melbourne! With a mix of carefully chosen classics and spontaneous improvisation, this feel-good live music performance takes you on a journey to the roots of this revolutionary genre.
Melbourne, it's time to dig in! Little Builders is bringing the ultimate sandbox adventure to Docklands, and it’s more than just child’s play, it's 25 tonnes of clean, safe sand and 50 square metres of hands-on discovery, creativity, and fun.
DISTRACTION plugs into the streaming torrent of content and the places our brains go when we want to focus on anything but the thing. You know… the thing you’re supposed to be doing right now?
Over the past three decades, Naarm/Melbourne-based artist and educator David Rosetzky has garnered critical acclaim for his lens-based works that explore human relationships and the construction of social identity.
Following the incredible success of Case 1 in 50 cities worldwide, The Jury Experience arrives in Melbourne with Case 2! I
Travel back in time to early medieval Scotland and discover the unique and mysterious treasure trove of Viking Age treasures, from jewellery, personal heirlooms and one-of-a-kind objects from as far away as Central Asia.
Making Good: Redesigning the Everyday explores how designers are reshaping the products and systems that shape our daily lives – transforming them into solutions that are better for people and the planet.
Established in 1887, the National Gallery of Victoria Travelling Scholarship shaped the creative development of generations of Australian artists.
Dean Cross is a Worimi artist and curator whose multidisciplinary practice spans performance, installation, photography, sculpture and painting.
He is one of the greatest entertainers of all time. Now, Michael Jackson’s unique and unparalleled artistry is heading to Australia in the multiple Tony Award®-winning musical MJ. Read our review here.
The epic realms of video games are the focus of Game Worlds, a major new playable exhibition premiering 18 September 2025 to 8 February 2026 at Australia’s national museum of screen culture, ACMI.
Made to move presents from the NGV’s holdings of Australian jewellery spanning 1960 to 2020
Rigg Design Prize exhibition highlights the achievements of Australian designers under the age of 35 working across ceramics, glass, furniture, woodwork, metalwork, textiles, lighting, and contemporary jewellery.
Discover a world four billion years in the making. In Our Wondrous Planet, you’ll come face to face with animals from around the world.
Dive into thrilling game challenge rooms, ride a mind-blowing 7D visual rollercoaster, and experience 3D movies with no glasses needed. From high-adrenaline adventures to interactive games, Dreamskape offers an all-in-one entertainment destination perfect for families, friends, and team events.
Rocky Shores, SEA LIFE Melbourne’s brand-new rockpool habitat, is now open! The new exhibit offers a unique perspective on our ocean’s little rock stars that linger along the shoreline.
Nipa Doshi is an award-winning designer and co-founder of London-based studio Doshi Levien. Through her work, Nipa explores and celebrates beauty, plurality and diversity, using design to disrupt homogeneity while fostering equal exchange between cultures.
This display brings together, for the first time, the work of two acclaimed Melbourne artists, Prudence Flint and John Brack.
Karen Black reimagines traditional representations of the body and portraiture through abstraction.
Following a record-breaking season at Adelaide Fringe, the latest addition to the acclaimed collection, INVISIBLE, will make its Melbourne debut on 24 October 2025, joined by the return of audience favourite FLIGHT.
Have a leisurely picnic and feast on the juiciest of blueberries, then stroll around our gardens, meet our ever-expanding family of dinosaurs, hunt for gold coins on Treasure Island and check out our new Miniatures Garden too!!
This November, blossoms turn into cherries as CherryHill Orchards transforms into a banquet. The Cherry Picking season is the final event on the CherryHill Orchards calendar and marks the penultimate moment for the third-generation family-operated business.
This five-time Tony Award®-winning production of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol will return to Melbourne’s Comedy Theatre for a strictly limited 5-week season from 27 November.
Step into a world of creativity, colour and celebration at the NGV’s 2025 children’s summer exhibition!
Women Photographers 1900–1975: A Legacy of Light celebrates the wide-ranging photographic practices of more than eighty women artists working between 1900 and 1975.
Discover the Magic of the Mean One this holiday season.
This major international exhibition pairs the work of two of the most influential fashion designers in recent history, Vivienne Westwood and Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons.
The Greatest Christmas Show is Australia’s #1 family Christmas event, blending heartwarming moments, spectacular magic, and world-class entertainment into one unforgettable night.
From opera stars to pop icons, celebrate the power and creativity of the diva.
Ballet’s most iconic story, The Nutcracker is returning, this Christmas!
Each Friday, we’re open late. Experience the NGV as it comes alive after dark – think fashion, art, icons and beats.
John Frost for Crossroads Live and Opera Australia today announced that the Broadway hit musical ANASTASIA, will have its Australian premiere at the Regent Theatre in Melbourne in December 2025 before touring to Perth and Sydney in 2026.
On 27 July 1985, a ground-breaking musical production had its Australian Premiere at Theatre Royal Sydney, heralding an era of the British “mega-musical” in Australia. Now, 40 years later, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s record-breaking musical CATS returns to Theatre Royal Sydney to celebrate it’s 40th anniversary, opening in June 2025.
Love is all around this Christmas when Love Actually in Concert returns to Australia.
This Christmas Eve, Sidney Myer Music Bowl will light up for another magical evening of Vision Australia’s Carols by Candlelight, presented by AAMI.
This is Bluey’s Big Play, for real life.
Disney Jr. Live On Tour: Let’s Play!” is set to enchant families across Australia this January and February with FIVE spectacular tour stops: Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth. This immersive concert experience will bring beloved Disney Jr. characters to the stage in an interactive musical adventure perfect for young fans and their families.
Inspired by the children’s classic Harold and the Purple Crayon - about a child who makes sense of their world through art - ZOOOM is an interactive, award-winning show which brings the audience along for the ride!
Eight world-class acrobats compress 10,000 hours of practice into 60 minutes you’ll never forget.
Circa, Australia’s trailblazing contemporary circus company, takes ballet’s most beloved classic and flips it on its head.
Forget everything you know about concerts. The DroneArt Show merges cutting-edge drone technology with iconic music in a way that has amazed audiences across the globe.
This January school holidays, dive into an extraordinary underwater world on our forecourt with The Whale, an awe-inspiring giant puppet installation from Australia’s beloved Spare Parts Puppet Theatre.
Introduce your little ones to the magic of Storytime Ballet: The Nutcracker – a festive, interactive ballet for children aged 3+.
Join the MSO for a magical performance perfect for the whole family featuring traditional carols, modern holiday favourites and classically Christmas selections.
But in a world that’s trying to squash Benny between its pages –from a wily dancing fire to a disillusioned illustrator –Benny will need the help of a new friend to achieve their dreams.
The Lord of the Rings – A Musical Tale, the stage production based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic trilogy beloved by generations of readers, will make its Australian premiere at the State Theatre Sydney from 7 January 2025 and Melbourne from 26 April 2025.
Relaxed sessions are an opportunity for visitors who could benefit from a quieter Gallery experience to access NGV exhibitions with fewer people and reduced sensory stimuli. This may include people with autism, disability, dementia or chronic illness conditions. All ages are welcome.
The annual Dome Under Film Festival returns to the Melbourne Planetarium at Scienceworks for its fifth year, offering 3 days of back-to-back fulldome films.
See Australia and England make history in the first day-night test match at the MCG. Don’t miss the highlight of the CommBank Women’s Ashes Series and the ultimate decider as Australia strives to retain the trophy. It's going to be HUGE, and you need to see it.
Experience the on-screen adventure of everyone’s favourite archaeologist and action hero, with John Williams’ score performed live by the MSO.
Come down to narrm ngarrgu Library and get some with your very own paper rocket.
Performing upbeat songs of friendship, confidence, and positivity, ARIA-nominated Zindzi & The Zillionaires take to the stage with their head-bopping blend of RnB, hip hop and rap.
Step into a magical realm with Prokofiev’s Cinderella.
Pop duo Turtle and Sugar Rush turn Elisabeth Murdoch Hall into an unforgettable day-doof disco.
Mobile MESS is a hands-on workshop that invites young kids aged 7-12 to explore the magic of electronic sound creation.
Get ready to have your mind completely blown again! After a sellout season in 2022, the world’s most legendary magicians are returning to Melbourne with their brand-new show.
At ArtPlay: Dive into the outdoors in the ArtPlay Backyard this summer.
Multi-award winning production Billy Elliot is being staged in Geelong for the first time ever in January 2025!
The iconic Peninsula Film Festival is set to dazzle the Mornington Peninsula this summer when it returns for its 14th edition.
Come and get up close with Australian native animals, including reptiles, mammals, birds, and perhaps even a crocodile!
Want to make a magical animal from scratch? Join Memetica’s craft workshop and you’ll learn how to create your very own snake using just cardboard.
Roald Dahl’s gruesome twosome The Twits returns this January after a sold out seasons around the country to delight and disgust, in equal measure.
Pick up a book, relax in a beanbag, show off your chess skills or people watch on the lawn – there is something for everyone.
Burst into the Library this summer at Kids Takeover. From the forecourt through to the Dome, the Library is turning into a hub of action, colour and creativity for kids and their grownups.
This internationally acclaimed theatrical masterpiece of Lewis Carroll’s timeless classic, Alice in Wonderland returns to Melbourne this January with a spectacular new production for a strictly limited season!
Join Winni for a hilarious, high-energy show stuffed with songs, dances and jokes that are funnier than your dad's.
Discover the hidden wonders of Victoria’s coastal waters with Coastal Critters—an immersive live aquarium experience! Get up close to amazing marine life like Pot Belly Sea Horses, Prickly Globe Fish, Lazy Shark Pups, and more in a safe and ethical environment.
Straight off the TV and onto the live stage, Andy and the Odd Socks bring their brilliant madcap mix of songs, slapstick and silliness to life with a show to entertain families of all ages.
TV’s favourite doctors return to Australia this January with a gigantic brand-new show!
Unleash your creativity these school holidays with NGV Kids on Tour! From wearable cat and dog ears to vibrant flower pompoms and delicate paper moths, there’s an art activity for every age.
England takes on the Australia in the second CommBank Women’s Ashes One Day International match in Melbourne! Get your seat to see the best of the best now!
Relaxed sessions are an opportunity for visitors who could benefit from a quieter Gallery experience to access NGV exhibitions with fewer people and reduced sensory stimuli. This may include people with autism, disability or chronic illness conditions. All ages are welcome.
Following four sell-out Australian tours and two smash hit seasons in London’s West End, Dr Chris and Dr Xand are back with the epic Quest for the Jurassic Fart!. Join the twins on a dino-mite adventure to unearth the most dangerous, most powerful, most important fart in history—the Jurassic Fart!!
Child Nation is a series of interactive experiences that engage children with their surroundings, celebrating their weirdest ideas and giving them permission to be themselves.