SYDNEY FESTIVAL 2014
Image: Spirit of Akasha
The Sydney Festival is back and promises a variety of events to keep Sydney entertained throughout January.
Organisers pride themselves on having a kaleidoscopic range of cultural events spanning from “burlesque circus to Chicago rap to Dutch theatre, from contemporary dance to family programs to traditional Indigenous arts practice and everything in-between. In all, the program comprises around 370 performances and around 100 events performed by over 700 artists in more than 30 venues each year” – according to the official website.
Discounted tickets can be snapped up to all events on the day for only $25 at the ‘Tix for Next to Nix’ booth in Hyde Park.
There is also plenty of free entertainment, including the Parra Opening Party happening in Parramatta on January 10th. The streets will be shut down as some of the hottest acts including Bella Kalalo and Gordie Mackeeman perform on the main stage but there will be a multitude of events in the surrounding area as well.
With so much reasonably priced entertainment to choose from across many locations, here is our guide to the best alternative picks of SF14.
Am I: Is a unique creation from Shaun Parker and Company in collaboration with composer Nick Wales and designer Damien Cooper.
The highly physical composition with seven dancers incorporates ancient fan and stick weaponry as well as live music from seven musicians.
“What is so special about Am I is the seven live musicians and singers; the cast of 14 is epic in proportions,” says Shaun Parker, artistic director and creator of Am I.
“It’s quite beautiful to be able to create the whole journey rather than press play on a CD and the dancers dance really differently to live music. The music goes into their bodies.”
Parker says that the initial stages are improvised around a core idea but there are moments of freedom of interpretation for the dancers and musicians onstage.
Jan 9-12, Sydney Opera House, Bennelong Point, $56-72, 9250 7777, ticketmaster.com.au
Chance: Christian Boltanski is known for his highly personal body of work exploring memory, loss, birth and death and Chance is Boltanski’s first major installation to be presented in Australia.
Jan 10-Mar 23, Carriageworks, 245 Wilson St, Eveleigh, free
Lao Qiang: Described as “ancient rock ‘n’ roll of the east”, Lao Qiang is energetic folk music accompanied by feisty shadow puppetry from the Zhang Family Band.
Jan 22-25, Seymour Centre, City Rd & Cleveland St, $38-42, ticketmaster.com.au
The Serpent’s Table: Combining storytelling, installation and great food, five remarkable Asian-Australians share dishes of special significance to their lives, and reveal the moving, humorous and provocative stories behind them. Featuring Pauline Nguyen and Indira Naidoo.
Jan 24-27, Carriageworks, 245 Wilson St, Eveleigh, $70, sydneyfestival.org.au
Kaput: Inspired by slapstick legends Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin, ‘Mr Fixit’ clumsily but charismatically moves through this silent movie-esque debacle. Featuring Circus Oz and Tom Tom Crew’s Tom Flanagan as the elegant buffoon.
Jan 14-19, Festival Village, College St & Park St, Sydney, $20, ticketmaster.com.au
Dido & Aeneas: Berlin choreographer Sasha Waltz has come together with celebrated baroque orchestra Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin to present her first opera: a majestic reimagining of one of the world’s great romantic tragedies.
Jan 16-17 & 19-21, Sydney Lyric Theatre, Pirrama Rd, Sydney, $45-199, ticketmaster.com.au
Merchants Store: This Installation may look like an ordinary 19th-century Sydney building from afar, until visitors spot the people dangling from the windows, climbing up the walls and crawling over the roof. With a precisely positioned mirror and a building facade that’s actually a floor, suddenly anyone has the power to defy gravity.
Jan 9-23, Darling Harbour, free, sydneyfestival.org.au
Spirit of Akasha: A new surf film, Spirit of Akasha aims to channel the magic of the ocean through music and film. It features surfers Stephanie Gilmore, Beau Young, Mick Fanning, Kelly Slater and Tom Curren, with compositions from musicians including Grouplove, Ben Howard, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy and The Windy Hills forming the original score.
Coming to life in the Sydney Opera House with some of the musicians who contributed to its original soundtrack, this live film and music experience pays homage to the enduring spirit of surf culture.
Jan 25, Sydney Opera House, Bennelong Point, $44-79, ticketmaster.com.au
Limbo: Billed as “dirty and dangerous circus cabaret”, Limbo promises to whisk audiences into a sinister netherworld of jaw-dropping contortion, gut-churning aerial acrobatics, nail-biting stunts and staggering illusions. Set to Sxip Shirey’s live score of brass, electronics, hip-hop and club beats.
Jan 9-26, The Spiegeltent, Hyde Park, $59-79, ticketmaster.com.au
Scotch and Soda: Some of Australia’s finest acrobats and music-makers butt heads to create Scotch and Soda, a whiskey-soaked evening of raucous dance and dexterous feats – where the band holds centre stage. This gig features a rowdy mob of misfits from Cantina, Smoke & Mirrors, La Clique, Circa and Tom Tom Crew. (LL)
Sydney Festival, Jan 9-26, further information: sydneyfestival.org.au
