From Britain’s indie music legends to contemporary Korea and Parisian music halls, Bach to Japanese electronica, and South Australian roller derbies to America’s Deep South, Adelaide Festival’s opening weekend starting Friday 27 February kicks off 17 days of remarkable international theatre, opera, dance and music.
OPENING WEEKEND KEY EVENTS
Elder Park will come alive with a free concert by legendary rock band Pulp! Gates open at 5pm with DJ Craig providing the tunes before the concert begins at 8:30pm. Jarvis Cocker and his longtime bandmates bring a mix of favourite anthems (Common People and Disco 2000) and new tracks from their newest album More.
Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard has undergone Simon Stone’s masterful adaptation and directorial vision, with an updated setting of modern-day South Korea for this timeless play of unrelenting social change. Fresh from rave reviews of its Hong Kong and Singapore seasons, award-winning actors Doyeon Jeon (Cannes Best Actress) and Haesoo Park (Emmy-nominated star of Squid Game) star alongside an all-Korean ensemble and on a stunning large scale, architectural set.
Adelaide company Slingsby complete their fairytale trilogy over three consecutive Adelaide Festivals with A Concise Compendium of Wonder, re-interpreting Hansel and Gretel, The Selfish Giant and The Little Match Girl in their purpose-built, secret-filled building, The Wandering Hall of Possibility at Adelaide Botanic Garden.
Grammy Award-winning American soprano Julia Bullock pays tribute to legendary 1920s singer and activist Joséphine Baker in Perle Noire: Meditations for Joséphine, directed by former Adelaide Festival Artistic Director Peter Sellars. In addition, Perle Noire’s composer (2024 Pulitzer Prize in Music winner Tyshawn Sorey), will perform a one-night-only piano concert Alone at Her Majesty’s Theatre.
Tryp is a celebration of progressive contemporary music featuring headline acts Boris and Merzbow (Japan), Barker (UK/Germany), DJ Haram (USA) and many more, taking place at Hindley St Music Hall on Friday evening and Adelaide University Cloisters on Saturday afternoon.
Hot from wowing audiences at Sydney Festival, Mama Does Derby is presented by Adelaide’s own Windmill Production Company and co-created by Clare Watson and Virginia Gay. Featuring a stellar acting cast alongside South Australian roller derby league members and a live band, take a seat trackside for this hilarious and heartfelt story of a mother and daughter who move to a new town and need to make their own fun.
Édouard Louis’ unflinching and sensual autobiographical work about queer resilience, History of Violence, in the hands of one of the world’s most provocative and influential directors, Schaubühne Berlin’s Thomas Ostermeier, with an outstanding ensemble of actors from Germany.
France’s Ensemble Pygmalion makes its long-awaited Australian debut with three programs over six concerts featuring the music of Bach, Monteverdi and Rossi and directed by its lauded founder Raphaël Pichon
In two electrifying dance works, Adelaide’s Australian Dance Theatre presents Faraway, a dark, dreamlike tribute to the shadows we must all evade by lauded choreographer Jenni Large, and Re-shaping Identity unites five regional Chinese dancers from different backgrounds including Tibetan, Yao, Uyghur and Han to share and transform their traditional dances into contemporary expressions of joy and liberation.
UK virtuoso violinist Anthony Marwood and Helsinki-born pianist Olli Mustonen hold artistic residencies. Marwood will perform two separate concerts with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, and Mustonen will play an intimate, weekend-long cycle of thirteen of Beethoven’s spellbinding Piano Sonatas, culminating in an exclusive duo performance that sees Marwood and Mustonen share the stage for the very first time, with Shostakovich’s mysterious Sonata for Violin and Piano.
Master yidaki artist William Barton joins the legendary Brodsky Quartet, traversing time and cultures to blend First Nations wisdom with the rich textures of European chamber music.
February 27 – March 15
adelaidefestival.com.au
