Weekender: September 7-10, 2023: Lifeline Bookfair, GAMMA Expo and more

Canberra's Heart Strings Theatre Co. (who produced a well-received Urinetown last year in Canberra and in Sydney) presents this contemporary musical by Peter Mills and Cara Reichel. The world is in turmoil, drifting toward tyranny - freedom is under assault, nationalism is on the rise and women are fighting for equality. No, it's not 2023, it's 1918 and the US Army are failing at the front lines due to poor switchboard communication skills, so they do something they've never done before - hire women. The US Army begrudgingly recruit telephone operators and ship them off to France to salvage the war effort. Grace Banker and her team of fearless women chip away at deeply ingrained systems of misogyny and sexism to change the course of history and blaze trails for all women in the armed services thereafter. After the war, the women were dismissed and had to fight for decades to gain official recognition as veterans. It's on at the Playhouse Canberra Theatre, from September 7 to 9, 2023 at 7.30pm and September 9 at 2pm. See: canberratheatrecentre.com.au

A.A. Milne's Christopher Robin and his friends Piglet, Eeyore, Kanga, Roo, Rabbit, and Owl (oh... and don't forget Tigger too!) who live in the Hundred Acre Wood are brought to life with life-size puppetry in this theatrical production that's been on in New York and London. The show features the classic Winnie The Pooh songs from the Disney films including The Blustery Day and The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers. Disney's Winnie the Pooh is on at the Canberra Theatre on Friday, September 8, 2023 at 1.30pm and 7.30pm and Saturday, September 9, 2023 at 10.30am and 1pm. See: canberratheatrecentre.com.au

On a hot summer's day in 1965, Merle Thornton and Rosalie Bogner walked into the public bar of the Regatta Hotel in Brisbane, calmly chained themselves to the bar rail, and ordered a beer in order to protest the exclusion of serving women in pubs. What happened next would change the course of Australian history - and a little less obviously - the course of music in Australia for women, forever. Join award-winning cabaret performers Amelia Ryan and Libby O'Donovan in a rollicking, raucous celebration of songs and stories from 1960s Australia. Hear the likes of Lynne Randell, Little Patti, Judy Stone, Marcie Jones, Margret Roadknight, Wendy Saddington, and Alison McCallum, in a nostalgic hour that pays homage to the women who blazed the trails for generations to come. Through history, heart, and hilarity, they bring these incredible women - and their music - out of the sidelines, and into their rightful place in Aussie music history. Directed by Elena Carapetis with musical direction by Mark Ferguson, it is on at the B (Queanbeyan Bicentennial Hall) on Friday, September 8, 2023 at 11am and 8pm. See: theq.net.au

If you love Gaming, Anime, Movies, Manga and Art then GAMMA is the show for you. Meet guests from TV and movies - John Jarratt (who played the evil Mick Taylor in the Wolf Creek franchise), Anthony Farah and Jayden Darcy (Beauty and the Geek season two) and Chris Antos and Naomi Tibbles (The Real Love Boat) are booked. Also at the event will be comic artists Dean Rankine (credits include Simpsons Comics, Futurama, and Timmy the Ticked-Off Pony) and Sorab Del Rio (Bazza the Bogan Barbarian). Take home a memory in the form of a photo and/or autograph. GAMMA Expo is an all-ages event featuring cosplay (costume roleplay for the uninitiated), fan clubs, musical performances, creative master classes, wrestling, gaming tournaments, competitions, celebrity Q&A panels, and an exhibitor hall full of vendors local and from around Australia. GAMMA prides itself on its ability to be an inclusive and safe space for all vendors and attendees. It's on at Thoroughbred Park on Saturday, September 9 and Sunday, September 10, 2023 from 9am to 4pm. See: gammaexpo.com.au