Adelaide Festival and Fringe season begins
By Liam Mitchell
Adelaide is once more being treated to an extraordinary array of talent in performances from all over the world at the Adelaide Festival and the Adelaide Fringe Festival.
The festival runs until March 21, and features a range of artistic styles and performers, many from eastern European countries, often overseas for the first time.
These include the internationally acclaimed Katona Joszef Theatre from Hungary and the State Theatre of Lithuania.
The festival continues its international flavor with WOMADELAIDE — the World Music Festival. This features acts from Tanzania, Kenya, India, Ghana and Macedonia, as well as Australian music and world class acts such as the Pogues, INXS and Paul Kelly.
WOMADELAIDE is being held in Long Gully in Belair National Park and also features workshops with performing artists.
Writers' Week is March 1-6 and Artists' Week March 9-13. The latter Week kicks off at the Festival Centre with an address by cultural theorist Meaghan Morris on "After the New World Order".
The title of the Fringe Festival is "The Affordable Festival". Run at the same time as the festival, the Fringe provides a forum for smaller local and international acts.
Some of the major acts at the Fringe include Two Bob in the Quid, by Aboriginal playwright Eva Johnson, performed at Junction Theatre from February 25 to March 15.
Johnson's plays features an Aboriginal family coming to terms with intense social and political pressures and change. The musical director is Monty Lovett, formerly of the well-known Aboriginal band No Fixed Address.
Also taking up Aboriginal issues is the Magpie Theatre Funerals and Circuses, featuring the music of Paul Kelly. This is a play about an outback country town and the social pressures arising from a wedding between a white woman and a black man.
From symphony orchestra to street theatre, the streets of Adelaide are coming alive with culture. The Festival and Fringe are both internationally renowned for the talent appearing and their superb organisation. The next few weeks promises to be very exciting.
Details on festival programs are available from Bass Dial 'n' Charge on 213 4777, or 008 888 327 Australia-wide, or 008 188 014 for SA country. Fringe information is available on (08) 231 6811.