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Sydney Festival 2007
The 2007 Sydney Festival promises a huge line-up of theatrical events to
tempt the tastebuds. The Festival itself is being called the biggest of its kind to date,
featuring over 100 events with almost 1,000 artists from around the world. Here’s what is on offer in the world of
theatre…
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM
Riverside Theatre, Parramatta. January 23-27.
One of Shakespeare’s most popular comedies gets an extreme makeover thanks to
Yohangza Theatre Company, based in South Korea. The company transports the audience to a
world of unforgettable fantasy as they mix martial arts inspired dance, voice and
percussion with Koran folklore, mythology and history. In this version of A Midsummer
Night’s Dream, all the main characters are given a twist.
BECKETT SEASON
Parade Theatre, NIDA. January 20-11.
Throughout 2006, in recognition of the centenary of his birth, celebrations have
taken place around the globe recognising the achievements of the dramatist, novelist and
poet, Samuel Beckett. For the Sydney Festival, The Gate Theatre Dublin will present a
season of international significance – three fully realised stage works, two evenings
of poetry and prose readings, a series of master classes and selected screenings of some
of the Beckett on Film projects. The three stage works are I’ll Go On
starring Barry McGovern, Eh Joe starring Michael Gambon and First Love
with Ralph Fiennes.
KISS OF LIFE
The Studio, Sydney Opera House. January 16-20.
Writer, performer and director Chris Goode has built up a cult following in the UK
for his solo storytelling shows that blend his gently intimate style with a subversive and
exhilarating approach to challenging topics. Goode makes his Australian debut with the
award-winning production Kiss of Life, a funny, challenging solo performance
where a bored young man has his life transformed by a homeless, suicidal stranger. Kiss of
Life is a high risk romantic comedy that attempts the seemingly impossible: turn a story
about attempted suicide into one of the most life-affirming shows you’ll see.
LA CLIQUE
The Famous Spiegeltent, Hyde Park North. January 5-28.
Fairground attraction collides with sideshow burlesque when La Clique, the sell-out
hit of fringe festivals right around the world, makes its Sydney debut. The intimate
surrounds of the sumptuous Spiegeltent welcome audiences to experience an astonishing
array of sexy, funny and plain jaw-dropping acts that celebrate the risk, danger,
sensuality and pure unadulterated pleasure of burlesque cabaret.
MOUSSON
Playhouse, Sydney Opera House. January 10-14.
Mousson (Monsoon) is a magical piece of theatre that draws the audience
into a beautiful and captivating parallel universe, where a feast of exotic sounds and
images emerge. In this bizarre and quirky 60 minute show, French performance trio
Compagnie Au Cul Du Loup engulf the audience in image, sound, form and movement to create
a charming, inventive and highly evocative experience.
SEEMANNSLIEDER
Sydney Theatre. January 10-13.
As controversial as he is revered, Christoph Marthaler is one of today’s most
influential theatre makers. This show is Marthaler’s musical journey through a North
European port town, populated by women waiting for men to return from the sea; by men
longing to go home or dreading to go to sea; and the ever present promise and threat of
the sea. It is a theatrical and musical cruise through darkness and melancholy, delving
deep into the lives, dreams, triumphs and indignities of a sea-side community.
SMALL METAL OBJECTS
Customs House Square. January 8-25.
This play is the story of Gary and Steve and their inadvertent role in the downfall
of a business awards night. The venue is Customs House Square. The time is peak hour. A
ticket to the event includes headphones and a spot on a seating bank, from where the
audience has exclusive access to the narrative through both dialogue and soundscape. The
actors, fitted with radio microphones, interact and move freely throughout the crowded
city panorama. For the audience, the effect is a cross between documentary film and
theatre; an insight into the hidden landscape within the metropolis.
TAYLOR MAC
The Studio, Sydney Opera House. January 15-19.
Taylor Mac is a songwriting, playwriting, ukulele-strumming wonder who has wowed
audiences from The San Francisco Opera House to the mouldy caves in Scotland. He takes
audiences on a high speed emotional journey of gender bending surrealism blended with an
infectious humanity. Combining traditional theatre with cabaret and performance art,
Taylor Mac’s flamboyant yet strangely understated songs and monologues are a
theatrical pastiche of frustration, confusion and delight.
THE ADVENTURES OF SNUGGLEPOT AND CUDDLEPIE AND LITTLE RAGGED BLOSSOM
Theatre Royal. January 9-31.
A joint production with the Belvoir Street Theatre, the musical stars Simon Burke,
Tim Richards and Ursula Yovich. May Gibbs; Snugglepot and Cuddlepie is a children’s
literary classic loved by generations of Australians. In this musical, the cherished tale
is turned on its head, surprising and entertaining children and adults alike. The show
combines childlike wonder with clever satirical wit in a musical that will have both
children and adults laughing in sheer delight.
THE SPACE BETWEEN
Lennox Theatre, Parramatta. January 16-20.
Playhouse, Sydney Opera House. January 23-27.
The Space Between integrated high-level acrobatics, tumbling and trapeze
skills with dance, movement and physical theatre styles, creating contemporary circus at
its best.
UNCLE VANYA
Sydney Theatre. January 22-27.
Regarded by many as the greatest acting ensemble in the world, the legendary Maly
Drama Theatre of St Petersburg makes its eagerly awaited Sydney debut with the
internationally acclaimed production of Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya. Written in 1895,
Chekhov’s play of tangled and tragic love combines comic scenes of everyday life with
a scathing attack on the idle provincial life of the upper classes. Both an acutely
observed study of humanity and a perfectly structured drama, Uncle Vanya remains
an absolute classic of Russian theatre.
WHITE CABIN
Playhouse, Sydney Opera House. January 22-26.
Without telling a specific story, actors present a series of imaginative episodes
that expose the absurdities of life. Presented by Russia’s Akhe Russian Engineering
Theatre.
Sydney Festival Box Office: 1300 888 412. |
