HOT AUGUST NIGHTS ARE HERE! TOP 10 PICKS OF #DFEST18
The Dry Season always gets us Darwinites out and about, bringing a number of exciting events to look forward to. However, there’s one event that I’ve been really anticipating all year - Darwin Festival! This year’s Festival has got something for everyone to get excited about, with a massive 113 events of varying genres including music, theatre, comedy, cabaret and circus. Make the most of the cooler Dry and spend your August nights at Festival Park, enjoying the chilled atmosphere, the live performances and the delicious food. If you’re looking at the program guide right now but still can’t decide what you want to see, here are some of my personal top 10 picks of the Festival that I think are an absolute must-see.
1. LIMBO
Breath-taking acrobatics, gut-churning contortion and staggering illusions – what more could you ask for from this extravagant cabaret/circus show? If you caught the smash-hit BLANC de BLANC at last year’s Festival, the same creators are back to wow us even more this year with LIMBO. Held in the Aurora Spiegeltent in The Esplanade, this thrilling show needs to be on the top of your must-see list. Shows are being held throughout the Festival from Thursday 9 - Sunday 26 August so there’s no excuse to miss out.
2. RPM vs Bad Apples
Prepare to get hyped at this full energy hip-hop concert under Darwin Festival’s open-air big top, The Lighthouse. Two trail-blazing Indigenous-owned music labels – RPM Records (Canada) and Bad Apples Music (Australia) – come together for this outstanding one-off world premiere. Mad rhymes, thick beats and searing First Nations politics - it’s going to be a night to remember. Catch the show on Friday 17 August.
3. Electric Fields
Genre-defying duo Electric Fields is bringing their spine-tingling electronic soul music to Darwin Festival for a memorable music experience. The duo combines electronic music with living traditional culture, as vocalist Zaachariaha Fielding often delivers lyrics in the traditional language of the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara people. Prepare to be captivated by their performance on Saturday 25 August at The Lighthouse.
4. Tracks Dance Company
Locally based Tracks Dance Company is back to deliver their latest cross-cultural and intergenerational work, In Your Blood. Drawing on the threads between mothers and sons, football and cricket, and traditional and contemporary dance, the dance work is backed by a massive soundtrack from Darwin’s very own ARIA-nominated producer James Mangohig. Don’t miss it on Sunday 12 – Monday 13 August & Thursday 16 – Sunday 19 August at the Holtze Lawn, George Brown Darwin Botanic Gardens.
5. Omar Musa
Rapper, poet and lyrical powerhouse Omar Musa brings his new show, Since Ali Died, to Darwin Festival. Mixing deeply personal stories with riotous political songs, Since Ali Died is an hour’s mash-up of poems, live music and storytelling that delves into the human condition and exposes the dark realities of Australian culture. See Since Ali Died on Friday 10 – Sunday 12 August at Happy Yess.
6. Prize Fighter
Fleeing the Congo as a child, playwright Future D. Fidel lived in a Tanzanian refugee camp for eight years before being granted refugee status in Australia. Prize Fighter is inspired by his own story and those of the people he has known, and tackles issues of immigration, war and personal struggle. Prize Fighter revolves around Isa, a young Congolese boxer blazing an impressive career between the ropes. Gearing up for the national title fight, he soon discovers it’s not just his opponents he has to outdo, but the demons from his tortuous past as a boy soldier. See the Darwin Entertainment Centre transformed into a boxing arena on Thursday 16 – Sunday 19 August.
7. Joel Creasey
You’ve seen him on TV in comedy galas, celebrity interviews, panel shows and even I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here. It’s Australia’s Crown Prince of comedy - Joel Creasey! Catch his new show Blonde Bombshell for a night of laughs as he smashes and sasses celebrities, pop culture and himself on Friday 17 – Saturday 18 August at The Lighthouse.
8. Betty Grumble
The award-winning Betty Grumble is best described as a surreal showgirl, obscene beauty queen and sex clown. Love & Anger, Grumble’s new show, is a highly provocative and hilarious womanifesto call to arms that features her unique blend of outrageous comedy, physical theatre, clowning and nudity. Love & Anger is on Thursday 16 – Sunday 19 August at Happy Yess.
9. SPUN: Power
SPUN is back again with another evening of stories drawn from real life in the Northern Territory. To mark the 25th anniversary of the Northern Territory Anti-Discrimination Commission, SPUN shines a light on stories inspired by power. Check it out on Tuesday 14 August at The Lighthouse. But get in quick because tickets are selling fast!
10. Salon Des Refuses 18
Revel in some of Australia’s finest Indigenous art in this art exhibition. Darwin’s very own brand of Salon des Refuses features a selection of the boldest contemporary Indigenous art that were unsuccessfully submitted for the prestigious Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (NATSIAA). This free exhibition is held on our very own campus at the CDU Art Gallery on Wednesday 8 August – Saturday 6 October.
Kathleen Lai recently finished a degree in communications and is currently a marketing intern for Darwin Festival.
