An axe-swinging, cabbage-fermenting, toilet graffiti-ing new exhibition at Adelaide Contemporary Experimental offers more than a nostalgic trawl through the ghosts of Adelaide’s performance art past.

Bryan Adam’s score brings the sonic might of the power ballad to this beloved 1990 romantic comedy, but it’s the performances, production design and enduring appeal of this modern Cinderella story that carry the show.

Starring a young Cate Blanchett in her first film role, the 1996 film Parklands remains a surprisingly evergreen – and very Adelaide – reflection on memory and place. 30 years after its release, writer-director Kathryn Millard reflects on the film and the current parklands controversy.

A debut novel inspired by Colonel Light’s mixed heritage has been longlisted for the Miles Franklin, while two more local writers have scooped $60,000 in prizes at the NSW Literary Awards.

Aided and abetted by an excellent band, Ursula Yovich not only showcases the work of a musical legend, she artfully brings the lessons of the songs closer to home.

The Art Gallery of South Australia has unveiled its latest acquisition: a rare landscape by Adelaide-born Dorrit Black that more than tripled its expected price when it hit the market for the first time.