PERTH FESTIVAL
Art in a different light.
9 February – 4 March 2018
Perth Festival
Word Version of Brochure 2018
We Welcome You
Scent of the Festival Damask Rose
From a tiny bottle of rosewater distilled in Persia and donated to our Museum of Water, Mahin Nowbakht’s story of arrival in Western Australia is the inspiration for the scent of our 2018 Festival. Damask Rose will be found in the drinks and food from our restaurant and bar partners and wafting through our venues during Festival time. You can read more about Mahin’s story online.
Tips for getting the most out of your Festival
Feel free to jump in with both feet, make a noise and grab a drink on the way in (or out). If you have any questions we’ve put together a few tips to help you be a true Festivalgoer. See pg 89 for more details.
Drink. Dine. Dream.
Fancy a tipple or a bite before the show? Want to take the hassle out of getting into town? We’ve buddied up with some of Perth’s finest to create great deals to complement your event experience. See pg 91.
Pre-show Fanfare
Perth Festival audiences will be called to their seats by something a little special this year. In collaboration with WAAPA, young people aged 15-25 will work with composer Rebecca Erin Smith to develop their own fanfares, which will take the place of traditional cue bells at selected Festival venues. Listen out for the Fanfares!
Festival Conversations
Hear Festival artists from around the world sharing the stories and magic that inspire their creativity. Our post show and weekly Conversations are a great way to get more out of your Festival experience. See the full schedule of conversations at perthfestival.com.au
Friends with benefits
Become our Friend and take advantage of a huge range of benefits including priority booking, discounts and invitations to special events throughout the year. For only $85 you can support the Festival and join in all the fun. Call 08 6488 5555 or go online for more info.
Perth Festival acknowledges that our events take place on the lands of the Noongar people and we wish to pay our respects to the traditional custodians of this Country.
As we celebrate the work of contemporary artists from around the world, we also acknowledge and respect the continuing culture of the Whadjuk people and the contribution they make to the life of this city and this region.
At the edge of Australia, at the edge of the world, our lifestyle, our environment and our history give us a distinctive way of celebrating creativity and culture. We embrace the very best that humanity has to offer from anywhere on the planet. Sixty five years in the making, our Festival is bright, bold and has something for everyone. Whether you’re a first timer, a regular or one of our many Friends, we’ve got a summer of extraordinary experiences to suit any taste and budget.
We invite you to experience art in a different light.
YOUR FREE FESTIVAL
Exhibitions, performances, live music ... one third of our Festival is free, so dive in and experience all you can.
YOUR FAMILY FESTIVAL
Sharing live performances with the family can make for great dinner table conversations. There are plenty of family-friendly events to have you tapping and talking for months.
YOUR FIRST FESTIVAL
Curious? If you haven’t experienced the Festival before we have a range of choices sure to have you coming back for more –and bringing your friends!
YOUR FEEL GOOD FESTIVAL
Banging tunes, loads of laughs, incredible stories and extraordinary physical feats. We’ve got a stack of feel-good Festival events to get your heart singing.
YOUR FEARLESS FESTIVAL
Hold your breath and get ready for the trailblazers of this year’s Festival,bundled up into a selection ofgenre-busting, binge-inducing andtotally unforgettable experiences.
TIX FOR $36
We’re offering tickets to selected Festival events for just $36! For that price you can take a chance on a show or see two shows you can’t decide between and it won’t break the bank. Get in quick. See all the details of our Tix for $36 offer at perthfestival.com.au
There is nowhere else like Perth. We can feel it with all our senses. Like the Damask Rose that is the Festival Scent for 2018, our lifestyle and outlook are distilled from the swirling global influences that settle on the western shores of our ancient land.
For 65 years, Perth Festival has been at the heart of our city.
In this singular and remote place on the edge of Australia, we welcome the innovative and visionary artists who bring their dreams and their endless capacity to surprise, entertain and provoke us.
I invite you to approach the Festival with a spirit of adventure and once again take the plunge as spectator, participant, even performer, and to share the connections and stories that bind us together.
Museum of Water, at Fremantle Arts Centre does just that by celebrating the font of life, leisure and ritual through the prism of Western Australian voices. And in a city that worships the sun, we invite you to experience Siren Song, a mysterious
work that will emerge from the skies at dawn and dusk during the Festival.
The 2018 Program is spun with magic moments that present a diversity of perspectives on the world. This is most evident in the two spellbinding spectacles of music and movement that will open and close the Festival. The Tao Buddhist performers of Taiwan’s Beyond Time and the Whirling Dervishes of Syria’s White Spirit remind us in the most compelling way that human harmony can transcend all division.
I hope you’ll all embrace the Festival and dive in fearlessly.
WENDY MARTIN
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
HON. MARK MCGOWAN MLA
PREMIER OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Perth Festival is a landmark event for all Western Australians and visitors to our State. Our community should be proud of how the Festival has progressed over the years to be one of the greatest events of its kind in the world. This major cultural asset opens pathways out into the world and enhances our unique lifestyle, our sense of identity and our social and economic wellbeing. A highlight of the Perth summer, it brings our community closer together and is a key attraction for tourists looking for special experiences they could not get anywhere else.
Showcasing the world’s best artists alongside our own worldclass talent, Perth Festival provides jobs, boosts skills and fosters an innovative community that strengthens our State’s development. Vital to this innovation is the State Government’s support of the Festival through its various departments and agencies including Lotterywest, the Festival’s Principal Partner.
I encourage you to explore the 2018 Festival program to share one of the great experiences of life in Western Australia. With hundreds of free and ticketed events on offer across theatre, music, circus, literature and other activities, there is bound to be something for everyone.
PROF. DAWN FRESHWATER VICE CHANCELLOR,
UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA
The University of Western Australia is proud to have founded, and to continue to support and organise, the longest-running, most diverse multi-arts festival in the country. In 1953 UWA Professor Fred Alexander brought to life his vision of a ‘festival for the people’. Since then Perth Festival has become a cherished fixture on the Western Australian cultural calendar. From its humble beginnings as a community arts experiment to the extravaganza it has become, the Festival has always been a pride and joy of our university.
The 66th annual Festival is a testament to the power of art to bring together people from all walks of life and to reach across the generations. Many of those who attended the Festival in its early years have made lifelong connections and will now be attending with their children and grandchildren. The Festival exemplifies the University’s values of international excellence and inclusion; creating a strong sense of community is at the heart of our institution. I would liketo congratulate the organisers, ledby Artistic Director Wendy Martin, for bringing to Perth an outstanding mix of performances. Our beautiful university campus hosts several key events, including the Writers Week and the film season at UWA Somerville. I welcome you to our campus and I hope you enjoy all that the 2018 Festival has to offer.
JOHN BARRINGTON
CHAIR, PERTH FESTIVAL
It takes our entire community to make the Perth Festival possible each year .If it takes a village to raise a child, then your Festival has been nurtured to grow along with the city whose people have given it life and allowed it to flourish as an expression of us all.
Perth Festival exists to enrich life through art and to celebrate humanity with creativity. Ever since its earliest days, the Festival has seeded and cultivated decades of cultural growth in Western Australia. In 2018, as we have every year, we will commission and present outstanding Festival experiences by the best artists on Earth and ensure that as many people as possible canaccess them.
Artistic Director Wendy Martin’s third Festival is again a wonderful program of excellence, inclusion and diversity that speaks to the entire community. It is packed with good times, powerful insightful moments and delightful opportunities for encounters with people being the best they can be.
On behalf of our Festival board, I thank Wendy and the Festival team, our principal partner Lotterywest, our founder the University of Western Australia and the many supporters who entrust us with the privilege of working on this major international arts event.
Our Festival and our city share the most dynamic region in the world, the Indian Ocean Rim and East Asian time zone where more than 60% of the world’s population lives. We are uniquely placed to build a creative and connected community and to explore international partnerships throughout our region and the rest of the world. I invite you to explore this Festival program and share it with your family and friends. It is a roadmap to what I hope will be your personal journeys of a lifetime.
Contents
SIREN SONG
MUSEUM OF WATER
BARBER SHOP CHRONICLES
IL N’ESTPAS ENCORE MINUIT …
BEYOND TIME
TO A SIMPLE, ROCK ‘N’ ROLL . . . SONG.
THE FAR SIDE OF THE MOON
VESSEL
ATTRACTOR
NASSIM
FAREWELL TO PAPER
YOU KNOW WE
BELONG TOGETHER
THE SECOND
WOMAN
WHITE SPIRIT
CERITA ANAK
YEUNG FAI
BALLET AT THE QUARRY
KATRINA BALLADS
SUNDAY MUSIC
JORDI SAVALL
ACO UNDERGROUND
JEAN-EFFLAM BAVOUZET
Writers Week
HELEN GARNER & KIM SCOTT
TIM WINTON
WILLIAM YANG
Visual Arts
KIMSOOJA
LISA REIHANA
LATAI TAUMOEPEAU
CHRISTOPHER CHARLES
ZADOK BEN-DAVID
PILAR MATA DUPONT
CHEVRON GARDENS
ELECTRIC FIELDS + SKINNYFISH SOUND SYSTEM
BLOCK PARTY
BEN FOLDS
ABBE MAY + CLAM JAM
NEIL & LIAM FINN
KITTY, DAISY & LEWIS
DIZZEE RASCAL
THE ORB + WILLARIS. K
SHIGETO + TOO MANY ZOOZ
THE STAVES + LUCIUS
TFS + FINGERFINGERRR
A.B. ORIGINAL
EMILY KING + JACOB BANKS
THE AVALANCHES
PERFUME GENIUS + MAMA KIN SPENDER
JOJO ABOT
MOGWAI
LEE FIELDS & THE EXPRESSIONS
TANK & THE BANGAS
LOTTERYWEST FILMS
PERTH WORKS
GIVING PROGRAMS
SUPPORT STORIES
THE FESTIVAL THANKS
MEET THE TEAM
HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR FESTIVAL
PACKAGES
DRINK. DINE. DREAM.
BOOKING DETAILS
ACCESS
Australia
SIREN SONG
BYRON SCULLIN/SUPPLE FOX
DAWN
DUSK
SKIES OF PERTH
‘People stop in their tracks, looking up to listen to something beautiful and eerie.’ The Guardian.
At dawn and dusk, the female voices of Siren Song descend from the sky signalling the arrivaland departure of the light each day.Marking the beginning and end of the Festival’s firstten days the sounds reflect through the canyonsof commerce, where the skyscrapers become theconcert hall and the city the reverb chamber.
GNARNK-BA KARLA WAARNGINY
(Speaking Fires of our Mother)
On Friday 9 February members of the Noongar community invite you and your family to a cleansing and clearing ceremony in St George’s Terrace to welcome in the 2018 Perth Festival.
Full details at perthfestival.com.au
Price: FREE
Dates 9 – 18 Feb
UK/Western Australia
MUSEUM OF WATER
A Perth Festival and Artsadmin production in association with Fremantle Arts Centre
A Perth Festival Commission
Museum of Water is a radically different museum that showcases, in Australia’s driest state, our connection to the world’s most essential life source. For over a year UK artist Amy Sharrocks has been towing her rusty trailer around the State, turning strangers into friends and liquid into art as she collects watery donations and the memories that go with them.
Now we can gather the whole collection together at Fremantle Arts Centre. Wander through a WA landscape where you can see more than 500 bottles of water, each with its own remarkable story. There are samples from Poison Gully and the Dragon Tree Soak, grey water from a laundry, a splash from a Paralympian’s swimming pool.
Follow a stream of water words as the Museum’s custodians share the many tales behind each bottle. Or share your own story and add to the collection by donating a bottle of water that is precious to you during the Festival.
On Festival weekends you can roam the grounds under sound umbrellas and dive into a free program of boat-building workshops, conversations and youth-led tours. Visit perthfestival.com.au for all the details.
Price: FREE
Venue: Fremantle Arts Centre
Dates: 7 Feb – 23 Mar
Donate your water
8 Feb – 4 Mar
Access: Wheelchair access, Tactile Tour,Auslan Interpreting.
Presented in association with
Western Australian Museum
United Kingdom THEATRE
BARBER SHOP CHRONICLES
INUA ELLAMS
A Fuel, National Theatre and West
Yorkshire Playhouse co-production
‘An ambitious piece and so life-affirminglyrealised. Go.’ The Independent (UK)
Australian Premiere Season
Newsroom,local hot spot, confessional and football stadium. For generations African men have gathered at the barber to talk shop, family, race, music and sport. Now you can take a fly-on-the-wall look at the goings on, in Inua Ellams’ latest production direct from a sell-out season at London’s National Theatre.
Take a fast-paced journey from London across Africa and be transported inside six barber shops over the course of a single day. Meet the crew and share in their stories. Whether it’s London, Jo’burg, Harare, Kampala, Lagos or Accra, the banter is barbed and the truth is right in front of the mirror.
Heart-warming and hilarious, Barber Shop Chronicles explores the stuff of life with sharpinsight, upbeat music and laugh-out-loud humour.You’ll be entertained. You’ll be enlightened. And you’ll feel like you’ve made some new friends.
Venue Octagon Theatre
Dates 9 – 18 Feb
Show Times
Fri 9 - Sat 10 Feb, Mon 12 Feb, Wed 14 - Sun 18 Feb, 8pm
Sun 11 Feb, 5pm
Sat 10 Feb and Sat 17 - Sun 18 Feb, 2pm
Duration 1hr 45mins no interval
Post ShowConversation11 & 17 Feb
Tickets
Adult $69 / Friends $62 / Concession $66 / Student $25
Tix for 36 $36
Warning Coarse language, loud Sounds
Access
Wheelchair access
Web Feb 14 - Captioned Performance
Sat Feb 17M - Audio Description, Tactile Tour, Post Show Discussion
Written by Inua Ellams
Co-commissioned by Fuel and the National Theatre
Development funded by Arts Council England with the support of Fuel, National Theatre, West Yorkshire Playhouse, The Binks Trust, British
Council ZA, Òran Mór and A Play, a Pie and a Pint.
France CIRCUS
IL N’ESTPAS ENCORE MINUIT …
COMPAGNIE XY
‘With thrilling acrobatic feats, the show makes performers and audiences
gurgle together in the shared pleasure of the moment.’ The Guardian (UK)
Australian Exclusive
Get set for a heart-in-your mouth, edge-of-your seat adrenaline rush as the thrilling acrobats of France’s Compagnie XY perform in Australia for the very first time.
A circus collective renowned around the world for pushing the limits of physical ability and bringing poetry to the body in motion, the XY style is daring, gasp-inducing stunts. Il n’est pas encore minuit ... (It’snot yet midnight …) features exhilarating acrobatic feats from 22 performers who will have your jaw dropping in wonder. They flip and dive through the air defying the laws of physics and create multi-storey human towers to have you holding your breath.
It begins with the chaos and rumble of an all-in brawl that gradually emerges into a study in cooperation and trust. With awesome strength and physicality, injected with humour and backed by the sounds of a 1920s jazz club, this is must-see circus for everyone.