Art has always been a keen barometer for political turbulence, so in these troubled, alt-right, Trumped-up, plebishite times, it stands to whatever reason is left in the world that our major arts festivals will mirror the ever-growing polarisation of our society. It certainly seems that this has been the case for Wesley Enoch, as the Director of the Sydney Festival unveiled the second program of his tenure today, although that isn’t to say next year’s offering is at all bleak.
Circus, drag cabaret, puppetry, toy sculptures and musical satire have kept the tone of 2018’s Festival defiantly buoyant while still remaining plugged-in to the political zeitgeist. Among the charged themes set to be explored next year will be modern feminism, environmental decay, the struggle and survival of minorities, and the marks human consumption have left on the world, for better and worse.
Headlining next year's program is a combination of Sydney exclusives and work that has already been seen on Australian shores. Coming solely to Sydney will be underwater concert Aquasonic, a live re-enactment of a seminal feminist debate from the 1970s in The Town Hall Affair, and Riot, a cabaret demonstration by the indomitable Irish drag queen and key activist for the successful Irish marriage equality campaign, Panti Bliss. The box-office smash hit dance production that headlined this year’s Melbourne Festival, Tree Of Codes, will head to Sydney in January, along with Circus Oz’s Model Citizen and Dead Puppet Society’s The Wider Earth. Returning to the Australia from the UK’s National Theatre will be Inua Ellam’s powerful refugee story Barber Shop Chronicles.
In an apparent response to criticism the Sydney Festival received from environmental groups earlier this year, who were angry about the 1.1 million plastic balls shipped to Australia for 2017's ball-pool installation The Beach, this year’s major visual art even will be made up of recycled toys. Jurassic Plastic by Japanese artist Hiroshi Fuji will see fantastic forms emerge from constructions of second-hand playthings.
The music program is wildly eclectic, featuring the likes of French electronica master Gotye, genre, gender and conformity defier Genesis P-Orridge, Russian punk provocateurs Pussy Riot Theatre, folk goth Aldous Harding, and Aussie rock royalty The Go-Betweens playing the iconic 16 Lovers Lane, supported by special guests Steve Kilbey of The Church and Izzi Manfredi of The Preatures. American musical satirist Randy Rainbow, whose YouTube send-ups of hot-button current affairs have made him a viral sensation, is set to be one of the must-see gigs of next year's Festival season.
The Sydney Festival plays venues across Sydney, 6 — 28 Jan 2018. Full details of the Sydney Festival 2018 program are available online.
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