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Napoleon, Chappell Roan and The Enchanted Garden: The best things to do in Brisbane this week
By Nick Dent
Event movies are well and truly back on the agenda and the latest from the legendary Ridley Scott casts Joaquin Phoenix as the Little Corporal, aka Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. Critics are praising its darkly comedic take on the Corsican dictator and his relationship with Josephine (Vanessa Kirby).
Elsewhere, egalitarian footwear is invading the art gallery, with an exhibition dedicated to sneakers and sneaker culture opening at HOTA, and The Enchanted Garden light show is turning Roma Street Parkland into a luminescent wonderland.
In that vein, flamboyant pop chanteuse Chappell Roan promises to be more resplendent than any Christmas tree when she hits the Powerhouse stage. But if your music tastes truly lean yuletide then Handel’s Messiah should be your cup of mulled wine.
Monday, November 20
Rev-olution: Police on highway patrol in Queensland used to saddle up on a different set of wheels.Credit: Sally Jelbert
Museums: Queensland Police Museum
This underrated museum is a vivid record of policing in the state since 1864 and features evidence, uniforms, medals, weapons, two-way radios, vehicles and accounts of notable crimes, solved and unsolved.
200 Roma St, Brisbane, 10am-3pm, free.
Art: Gone Fishing
The place of fishing in Indigenous culture is the subject of this show of fish traps, spears, nets and other artworks.
Gallery of Modern Art, until Jan 21, 10am-5pm, free.
Tuesday, November 21
Rachel Nutchey (foreground) and Byron Lankester Howells in IRL.Credit: Morgan Roberts
Theatre: IRL
Lewis Treston’s play is a “gay joy ride” about a 17-year-old and his best friend cosplaying and looking for love at a pop-culture convention.
La Boite, until Nov 25, $39-$55. Buy tickets.
Sport: Brisbane Heat vs Sydney Sixers
The Women’s Big Bash League heats up with the last Brisbane home game of the season as well as face painting, performances, fireworks, food trucks and giveaways.
Allan Border Field, 6.10pm, $8-$15. Buy tickets.
Wednesday, November 22
Circa Cairns production Son plays at QPAC this week.Credit: Circa
Circus: Son
Circa Cairns use the medium of circus to tell a personal story of fathers, sons, First Nations culture and queerness, exploring what masculinity can mean in 21st-century Australia.
Playhouse, QPAC, $49, Nov 22-25. Buy tickets.
Music: G. Love & Special Sauce
The funky bluesmeisters from Philly are still delivering their rhymes for the summertime and promise an evening of wicked grooves and cold beverages at the Princess.
Princess Theatre, 7.30pm, $66.75-$82.05. Buy tickets.
Thursday, November 23
Joaquin Phoenix plays Napoleon in Ridley Scott”s latest. Credit: Sony Pictures Releasing
Film: Napoleon
Director Ridley Scott takes on the topic of the French dictator, military commander and moderniser, with Joaquin Phoenix in the title role and Vanessa Kirby as Josephine.
In cinemas.
Events: The Enchanted Garden
Lights, holograms and lasers will turn the Celebration Lawn into a dazzling wonderland, with staggered entry nightly and bookings essential.
Roma Street Parkland, Nov 23-Dec 20, from 6.30pm, $7-$9. Book online.
Friday, November 24
Audience members take their seats on a vintage bus to witness this adaptation of 1990s action film Speed.Credit: Wynnum Fringe
Comedy: Speed: The Movie, The Play
The 1994 Keanu Reeves-Sandra Bullock action movie gets re-staged at the Wynnum Fringe with the audience taking their seats on board an actual bus.
Wynnum Fringe Garden, George Clayton Park, until Dec 2, 7pm & 8.30pm, from $40. Book online.
Music: Tania Doko Live and in Conversation
The lead singer of Bachelor Girl performs with a three-piece band and tells stories from her life as a performer and songwriter.
Wynnum Fringe Garden, Wynnum Opera House, 5.15pm, $40. Buy tickets.
Saturday, November 25
“Everything just clicked, the very second I let go of trying to be taken seriously,” says Chappell Roan of her circuitous journey to pop.Credit: Ryan Clemens
Music: Chappell Roan
Like Katy Perry gene-spliced with Courtney Love, the queer pop starlet from Missouri is one of the big drawcards of the Brisbane Powerhouse Melt Festival and is hot to go with her technicolour celebration of self-discovery.
Brisbane Powerhouse, 7.30pm, $54-$69. Buy tickets.
Music: The Vanns
The earnest indie rockers from Kiama are touring their sophomore album Last of Your Kind and are starting to feel right at home on larger stages like the Tivoli’s.
The Tivoli, 7pm, $59.90. Buy tickets.
Sunday, November 26
Sneakers Unboxed is an exhibition exploring the design and culture of sneakers.Credit: Ed Reeve
Museums: Sneakers Unboxed: Studio to Street
The history and design of sneakers from the sports field to the fashion runway is explored in this inventive exhibition from The Design Museum in London.
HOTA Gallery, from Nov 25, $10-$26. Buy tickets.
Music: Handel’s Messiah
What could be more Christmassy than the Messiah? Hear it performed by the acclaimed Sunshine Coast ensemble Oriana Choir conducted by Andrew Wailes, and prepare for goosebumps when they get to the Hallelujah Chorus.
Brisbane City Hall, 3pm, $15-$55. Buy tickets.