Three Australian premieres in dance, music and theatre are some of the incredible shows exclusive to South Australia as the Adelaide Festival Centre’s OzAsia Festival releases a sneak peek into its 2018 program.
“With the biggest ever OzAsia Festival program due to be released in August, we couldn’t contain our excitement and are releasing information about six major events,” said OzAsia Festival Director Joseph Mitchell. “We are thrilled to announce an early release of selected shows for those who want to get in for some of the most popular productions.”
Prolific Korean choreographer Eun-Me Ahn brings glitter balls, grooves and grandmothers to Adelaide, transforming the Dunstan Playhouse stage into a giant dance floor with the Australian premier of international hit Dancing Grandmothers from Thursday 25 October to Saturday 27 October.
After journeying to meet the women who founded modern Korea, Eun-Me Ahn documented their love of dance in a vibrant contemporary performance inspired by the energy of the women she met. Everyday Korean grandmothers join an impressive lineup of professional dancers, bridging the generation gap.
In another Australian premiere, War Sum Up leaps into 21st century opera with an innovative production inspired by Japanese expressions of poetry, pop, precision and brutality from Monday 5 November to Tuesday 6 November.
Newly composed classical music is infused with chamber pop and electronica, immersing the audience in a powerful, extraordinary soundscape – the ultimate audio-visual requiem on destruction and loss.
For theatre lovers, the legendary Chinese playwright and director Stan Lai’s beloved modern classic Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land comes to Australian shores for the first time, with performances at Dunstan Playhouse from Friday 9 November to Sunday 11 November.
A masterwork of contemporary Chinese theatre, this hilarious yet poignant production tells the story of two drama troupes who are booked mistakenly into the same theatre space.
Two mega-stars of Japan’s contemporary art scene Ryoji Ikeda and Chiharu Shiota join OzAsia Festival’s celebrated visual arts program. Ikeda’s data.tron (3k version) will be an Australian premiere installation and Chiharu Shiota will create a brand new installation commissioned by the Art Gallery of South Australia along a retrospective of her earlier works.
Festival favourite, the Moon Lantern Parade, will take over Elder Park with an explosion of colour and lights on Saturday 27 October. With the largest venue capacity to date, this year’s event will give festivalgoers more vantage points to view the parade than ever before.
Australia’s biggest lantern parade will feature more than 40 different handmade lanterns including nine brand new giant lanterns, plus community and roving performances, a trail of 32 exquisite lanterns placed throughout the park for families to explore, and plenty of amenities and food trucks in Elder Park and the Lucky Dumpling Market. The night will finish with a bang with an impressive fireworks display over the Torrens.
In a massive coup for Adelaide, OzAsia Festival builds to a spectacular final weekend with the Jaipur Literature Festival – an international feast of cultural connections and new perspectives – showcasing the artistic, literary and culinary heritage of South Asia and the world with books, ideas, food, music, dialogue and debate from Friday 9 November to Sunday 11 November.
“This year’s OzAsia Festival line-up is shaping up to be our most extensive and impressive yet, with some incredible world and Australian premieres,” said Adelaide Festival Centre CEO & Artistic Director Douglas Gautier AM. “Bringing the very best of art from across Asia to our shores, Adelaide Festival Centre’s OzAsia Festival connects audiences with an outstanding array of theatre, music, dance, visual arts, film and food.”
The 12th OzAsia Festival runs 25 October – 11 November. The full program will be launched on Tuesday 14 August 2018. For more information,visit: www.ozasiafestival.com.au for details.
Image: War Sum Up (supplied)