SIMON Phillips is directing the production of “Shakespeare in Love” for Melbourne Theatre Company. Adapted by Lee Hall from the screenplay by Tom Stoppard and Marc Norman, it is based on the 1998 film starring Joseph Fiennes and Gwyneth Paltrow. At Canberra Theatre, August 22 to August 31. Book at canberratheatrecentre.com.au

ECHO Theatre, a brand-new company directed by Jordan Best, is presenting Jaki McCarrick’s play “Belfast Girls”, who are on board a ship with the promise of a better life in Australia. These “girls” shine for their fortitude. At The Q, Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre, August 24-31. Bookings to theq.net.au or 6285 6290.

RECENT winners of the 2019 Grammy for Best World Music Album, Soweto Gospel Choir are bringing their “Freedom” tour to Llewellyn Hall, full of vibrant costumes, vocals and uplifting songs. Friday, August 23. Bookings to ticketek.com.au or 132 849.

ILBIJERRI Theatre is bringing multi-talented performer Ghenoa Gela to The Bicentennial Hall, next to The Q, Queanbeyan, in “My Urrwai”, billed as a revealing reflection on cultural and familial inheritance. 10.30am and 8pm, Friday, August 23. Bookings to theq.net.au or 6285 6290.

WODEN Valley Youth Choir is holding its 50th Anniversary concert at Llewellyn Hall at 7pm on Saturday, August 24, the first major recital under the direction of artistic director Olivia Swift, with choir alumni Lainie Hart and Kylie Higgins as guest soloists. It will also include a bracket by the alumni choir under the batons of founding director, Don Whitbread and his successor Alpha Gregory. Bookings to ticketek.com.au  

“SUMMERS in Nohant” will see pianist Kotaro Nagano performing for the Friends of Chopin Australia, a program of romantic music based around the pieces Chopin composed at the country estate of his lover, the novelist George Sand. All Saints Church in Ainslie, 6.30pm, August 24. Bookings to friendsofchopin.org.au

“LEGALLY Blonde the Musical” is back, this time in the hands of director Jim McMullen and the team from Canberra Philharmonic Society. At Erindale Theatre, August 22 to September 7. Bookings to philo.org.au

THE Korean Film Festival in Australia is back with a suite of blockbusters, indie flicks, rom-coms, pop culture musings and more, all with English subtitles. Palace Electric Cinemas, August 22–25. Bookings to palacecinemas.com.au

THE National Library is launching “The exhibition, Story Time: Australian Children’s Literature” looking at the works of great Australian authors and illustrators, including Bronwyn Bancroft, Mem Fox, May Gibbs, Bob Graham, Emily Rodda, Ivan Southall, Shaun Tan and Ethel Turner. From August 22 to February 9.

THE piano division of the National Eisteddfod is at Ainslie Arts Centre from August 22-25, with sections covering contemporary, classical, improvisation, and chamber music and period compositions. Bookings and all program details to nationaleisteddfod.org.au

CANBERRA classical guitar virtuoso, Minh Le Hoang, will be launching his national tour not here, but across the border in Braidwood. His recitals will encompass baroque to modern composers from Bach to Sculthorpe. Braidwood Uniting Church, 66 Monkittee Street, Braidwood, 2pm, Sunday, August 25. Tickets at the door, cash only.

BENJAMIN Grace performs Australian composer Phillip Houghton’s classic sonata, “Ophelia”, as well as Baroque masterpieces by Domenico Scarlatti and Sylvius Leopold Weiss, and a work by Cuba’s Leo Brouwer at Southside this weekend by the open fire. At Lyons Scout Hall, Tooms Place, 4pm, Sunday, August 25. Bookings to trybooking.com

POETRY at Manning Clark House will be held at 11 Tasmania Circuit, Forrest, 7pm for 7.30pm, this Thursday, August 22, with three poets, it’s definitely not to be missed. $10 entry includes nibbles and wine and door prizes, Denise Burton, Laurie McDonald and Allis Hamilton. All welcome, tickets at the door.

AMERICAN sitar virtuoso Josh Feinberg will be performing in Canberra for one night only on Saturday with Sydney tabla player Abhijit Dan. Feinberg, a child prodigy, hails from Portland, Oregon and is a disciple of the illustrious Ustad Ali Akbar Khan of the Maihar Gharana. At Theo Notaras Multicultural Centre, Civic, 6.30pm, August 24. Bookings to 0421 636736, 0430 412035, or 0403 942375.