What’s what and who’s who in the arts this week? Here’s HELEN MUSA‘s weekly “Arts in the City” column.

FORMER director of the Centenary of Canberra and the National Festival of Australian Theatre, Robyn Archer, has just been awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of South Australia. Performing regularly, Archer is now a global mentor for the European Festivals’ Association Festival Academy and an ambassador for the Adelaide Crows.

“THE Twins”, a new Australian play, stars comedians Greg Fleet and Ian Darling playing two old school friends, Greg and Ian, reuniting 40 years after playing the twins in Shakespeare’s “The Comedy of Errors”, to rework it as a two-hander. The show has been coined “theatre verité” because the characters are real people, played by themselves. The Courtyard Studio, May 3-6, book here.

IN a move likely to be replicated elsewhere in our arts community, ACT Writers, formerly the ACT Writers Centre, has finished up as a resident at Gorman Arts Centre to become a fully digital organisation. CEO Meg Wilson says, “a global pandemic showed us there are many ways to operate beyond the conventional four walls of an office”. But workshops and events will still be held face-to-face. Inquiries here.

SINCE 2016, Roland Peelman has been the artistic director of the Canberra International Music Festival. “Roland Peelman” by wordsmith Antony Jeffrey and photographer Anthony Browell, is full of observations, both amusing and reflective, and copiously illustrated. It’s available for $30 here.

UNIVERSITY of Canberra students enrolled in any subject at the Faculty of Art and Design will have access to cultural and historical institutions like the NGA, the NPG, the War Memorial, the NLA, the NMA and MoAD through the UC Cultural Pass 2021, worth more than $350. Apply here. 

CANBERRA Choral Society kicks off this year under the baton of director Dan Walker with “Music for Voices and Brass”, 16th century Venetian works by Andrea and Giovanni Gabrieli. The concert will also feature the Canberra premiere of Walker’s own “Mass of Deliverance,” which combines choir, brass and percussion. Llewellyn Hall, 5pm, Sunday, May 2. Book here. 

A CONCERT for people with hearing loss returns with Canberra Symphony Orchestra’s “Rediscovering Music”, curated by audiologist and CSO bassoonist Kristen Sutcliffe. The concert engages participants in active listening practice and will be held at the Hellenic Club, Phillip, 2pm and 5.30pm, Tuesday, May 4. Free, but registrations essential or call 6262 6772.