It’s been a while since Seesaw Mag’s last gig guide but we’re BACK baby, with a selection of arty treats to warm your heart.

Musical melodrama

Lit Live: Behind the Spotlight with DivaLicious
2 June @ Kidogo Arthouse, Fremantle

There’s a nostalgic joy to attending Lit Live’s storytelling events, as anyone who has been to one will know.

This time they’ve teamed up with the effervescent and comical operatic duo DivaLicious (Penny Shaw and Fiona Cooper) for an evening that takes you backstage, to the dramas that unfold behind the scenes.

Think duelling divas, cat-fights in the chorus and backstage banter, all accompanied by pianist David Wickham. More info

The hills are alive

Genius Loci, Spirit of Place
20 May-16 July @ Mundaring Arts Centre

Need a break from the hustle of the city?

Head out to Mundaring Arts Centre where three artists are providing an antidote to our fast-paced world in an exhibition that explores the intricate ties between place, space, feeling and emotions.

Artists Shelley Cowper, Haya Hagit Cohen and Elmari Steyn ask what it is that makes a feel a spiritual connection to places and a “sense of place”, through traditional printmaking techniques and mixed media works. More info

Slice of life in doco

Because We Have Each Other
20 June @ Luna Leederville

Described as “an intimate slice of life about a neurodiverse working class family”, Because We Have Each Other is an Australian documentary and you can attend a screening plus an in-person Q&A with filmmaker Sari Braithwaite, Tuesday 20 June at Luna Leederville.

You’ll meet the matriarch Janet Sharrock, pushed to the point of exhaustion by the demands of providing unconditional love and support for her family, Brent “Buddha” Barnes, a motorcycle spray painting workshop owner who studies daily to manage his dyslexia, and their blended family, average yet exceptional.

Made over five years, this film promises to be a portrait of resilience. More info

Take a trip back in time

Discovering Ancient Egypt
10 June – 18 October

Journey back in time along the Nile to discover Ancient Egypt at the WA Museum Boola Bardip this month.

Suitable for all ages, this exhibition focuses on new insights into ancient Egyptian culture, made possible through excavation, 3-D scanning and recent research. You’ll be able to check out richly decorated coffins and mummified remains alongside over 240 objects on loan from the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden. More info

Party at the Proms

Last Night of the Proms: A Classical Spectacular
9-10 June @ Perth Concert Hall

A tradition borrowed from the Brits (flags are welcome), the Last Night of the Proms is a concert that celebrates the classics of classical music, with plenty of party atmosphere.

With a program that includes audience favourites such as Holst’s The Planets: Jupiter, the Nimrod variation from Elgar’s Enigma Variations and Ravel’s Bolero, the evening ends with a singalong.

This year’s program will be led by Guy Noble, a conductor known for mixing music and fun – he once piggy-backed singer-songwriter Ben Folds on stage, and may be the only person to have played tennis during an orchestral performance at the Sydney Opera House. More info

Young talent time

Where Water Once Was
13 June – 1 July @ The Blue Room Theatre

Tim Minchin, Kate Mulvaney and the members of The Last Great Hunt all presented work at The Blue Room Theatre in the early days of their careers. And that’s why heading to The Blue Room Theatre is exciting – you never know when you’re going to see the beginnings of the next new star.

At just 19 years old, playwright Evan Rickman could be one of those. So why don’t you take a chance on his debut play, Where Water Once Was? With a cast spanning several generations, the story follows a family who are struggling to come to terms with both the illness of their matriarch and the dark secrets held by the family home. More info

Pictured top: Ludovico Di Ubaldo and Dayana Hardy Acuna in Melanie Lane’s ‘Slow Haunt’ (2021). Photo: Bradbury Photography